Stargate: SVU 3
by Mcfergeson
Summary: As Olivia and SG-1 search for alien tech to help them fight Lord Ba'al, they come across a fabled legend which may save earth-if the quest doesn't kill them, first!
1. Chapter 1

_The 'ships in this story are: Sam Carter/Jack O'Neill ~ Olivia Benson/Daniel Jackson ~ Elizabeth Weir/John Sheppard._

_All Law & Order: Special Victims Unit characters are owned by Universal. All Stargate characters are owned by MGM. I am not making any money off of this story, which is just written for fun. _

_This is the third story in my Stargate/SVU crossover. Consider this to be an alternate story where Olivia Benson is a member of SG-1, along with Lt. Jennifer Hailey and Lt. Grace Satterfield. They are fighting Lord Ba'al, who has gained great power through taking over the Netian Empire._

**Stargate: SVU 3**

**Chapter One**

When Samantha Carter finally found Jack O'Neill, she burst into a smile.

The Colonel had made himself at home on the tropical beach of the planet designated as PLN-567, choosing a site directly under one of the biggest palm trees on the coast. He had removed his boots, as well as most of his gear, and sat sipping from a coconut through a straw as he calmly watched the azure waves roll in from behind his sunglasses.

'Where'd he get the straw from?' Sam wondered, still smiling. Then she realized that he must have had it snuck in one of the MALP supply shipments that the SGC had sent through the gate. 'One thing you've gotta give Jack, he always knows how to kick back and relax--although, this place certainly makes it really easy to do so.'

As Sam strode up to Jack, she caught sight of Teal'c, who stood further down the beach. The burly Jaffa held his staff weapon in his hands as he stared with a contented expression at the ocean before him. Although Teal'c still wore most of his gear, he was stripped down to his tank top, which displayed his muscular physique. Ever the warrior, Teal'c was still on guard for any sign of trouble--even in this peaceful paradise.

Yet Sam noticed that Teal'c chatted with Lieutenant Jennifer Hailey, who stood barefoot a few feet ahead of him in the surf. Judging from the broad smiles that the young woman gave Teal'c, it seemed as if they were having a pleasant conversation. So it appeared that perhaps this serene place was finally beginning to work its gentle magic even on the stoic Jaffa.

"Morning Carter," Jack called lazily. "Or is it afternoon already?"

Sam chuckled as she shook her head slightly. After she checked her watch, she said, "It's still morning, sir. Eleven hundred hours exactly."

Sam sat down in the sand next to Jack and let out a heavy sigh. Sam had decided to stay fully dressed in her BDU and all of her gear, because she figured that somebody on this team should maintain the high standards of the United States Air Force.

'But it's darn hot!' Sam thought, as she removed her cap and ran her hand through her sweat-soaked hair.

"Oh, to heck with it," Sam muttered, as she started removing her boots.

"Atta girl," Jack muttered with approval. "I was wondering when you would give in and join the rest of us. I was almost getting ready to order you to strip."

"Excuse me, sir?" Sam asked, as she gave him a shocked expression. "You were about to order me to remove my clothes?"

"Of course I was, Carter," Jack solemnly replied. "Maintaining Air Force protocol is well and good, but I didn't want to see you drop dead from heat exhaustion."

Sam--who initially thought that Jack had broken their private code of only exhibiting professional behavior while they were on the job--abruptly nodded, conceding his point. "Yes, sir. Um, sorry, sir."

"Carter, just relax, all right?" he gently told her. "Jeez, that Area 51 gig really got you all high-strung, huh?"

"Not much time to kick back at Area 51, sir," Sam admitted. After she removed her socks, she tucked them into her boots and placed them by her side. "The Prometheus Project sure kept us busy."

"Yeah--I didn't get a chance to ask you, Carter; how's that going?"

"Not good, sir. It's been a struggle integrating the hyperspace engines of an Alkesh with our technology--not to mention the addition of the Seeker Wave technology. Work's been suspended for the time being, thanks to a reevaluation of the project."

"It's being canceled?"

"More like being rethought. The Prometheus design team desperately wants to make this work; but they now want to see if they can reverse-engineer a hyperspace engine from scratch, rather than depend entirely on Goa'uld tech. They figure it should work better, as well as avoiding any pitfalls, like what happened to you and Teal'c in the X301."

"Oh, yeah," Jack said with a frown. "That was _fun_…."

Sam nodded in agreement. "The last thing we need is for the Prometheus to be sent hurling into deep space by a Goa'uld recall device."

"Well, we still have the fleet of Alkesh and Teltac ships that Io'tan gave us," Jack said. "And regardless of how the project is going, it's damn nice to have you back with us, Carter. You've been missed."

"It's great to be back, sir. I've missed you too." Sam stripped down to her tank top, then put her vest back on over it, so her radio and other assorted gear would still be close at hand. While she already felt much better, much more cooler, Sam still felt very uncomfortable mentally, and she suddenly realized why: she couldn't help but feel like a fifth wheel. Since SG-1 arrived on PLN-567, and discovered that its people were barely out of the stone age, living as they did in grass huts and as close to nature as humanly possible, there hadn't been much call for the scientific skills of either Sam or Hailey.

Even after Daniel and Lieutenant Satterfield had discovered the buried temple in the jungles just beyond this beach, there was still very little for Sam and Hailey to do. The indigenous people, who referred to themselves as the Mumani, were extremely friendly, welcoming them with open arms--which led the team to eventually relax its guard and treat this mission as more of a vacation in an exotic hotspot. The only two members of SG-1 who were still working full time were Daniel and Satterfield; they were busy trying to interpret the multitude of writings on the interior walls of the temple. Olivia was presently with them, acting as their guard.

Although the chances of them finding any advanced alien tech on this planet were virtually nil, Jack had decided to give Daniel and Satterfield these couple of days to explore the deserted temple, in the hopes that they might still find something. And Sam was pretty sure that Jack had an ulterior motive in granting this request: which was the longer Daniel and Satterfield took in doing their research, the longer SG-1 could stay and enjoy the Mumani's hospitality in this lush tropical paradise. And while Sam certainly did enjoy herself here the last few days here, she still began to feel an urgent need to move on in their quest to find alien tech for Earth.

'Ba'al is on the move across the galaxy, striking out at the other Goa'ulds. And he's winning!' Sam thought grimly. She knew that it wouldn't be long before Ba'al, fortified with weapons and troops from the vanquished Netian Empire, would soon turn his attention on Earth. With such a threat looming within their galaxy, the search for alien technology to defend themselves with became even more urgent then ever.

"The perimeter is still secure, sir," Sam reported, trying to at least maintain an air of Air Force professionalism, even though she was no longer dressed for it. She wiggled her toes in the sand. "Just as it has been since we first got here."

"You mean the Muumuus haven't gotten tired of us yet, Carter?"

Sam let out an exasperated sigh. Even after several days, Jack was still mangling the name of the indigenous people. "You mean the Mumani, sir?"

He nodded. "Yeah, right, those guys…."

"No, sir, they haven't gotten tired of us," Sam replied. When she caught movement out of the corner of her eye, Sam glanced over at a group of Mumani children, who were huddled together behind a palm tree, all staring with intense curiosity at them. "In fact, it looks like the Mumani sent their own little scouting party to check us out."

"Hey guys!" O'Neill said with a cheery wave at the children.

In response, the group of children scattered into the jungle foliage with wild screams.

"You have such a way with kids, sir," Sam said, deadpan.

Hailey eagerly ran up to them. "I'd like to go swimming, Colonel."

Jack gave Sam a puzzled look, then he glanced back at Hailey and said, "Are you asking our permission to go swimming, Lieutenant? Have you eaten within the last hour?"

"You put on enough sun block, young lady?" Sam added with a smile.

Although Hailey abruptly glanced down at the ground, she still couldn't suppress her laughter. "Um, excuse me, sirs. What I mean to say is that Teal'c keeps telling me there are sea monsters out there."

"Well, we don't really know what's in the water," Sam said.

"Yeah." Jack nodded in Sam's direction. "What she said."

"The Mumani never said there was anything dangerous out there," Hailey countered.

"That's because we've never _asked_ them if there was anything dangerous in the water," Sam told her. "The Mumani are a very literal people, Lt. Hailey. There could be dragons just behind the mountains, but they won't say a word about them unless you actually _ask_ if there's anything there."

"Here there be dragons!" Jack said dramatically.

"Indeed?" Teal'c asked, as he casually strode over to them.

"Lt. Hailey wants to take a swim, Teal'c," Sam said. "And she informed us that you told her there were sea monsters?"

"Indeed there are, Major Carter," Teal'c calmly told her.

Hailey, grinning, shook her head at him. "Nice try, Teal'c, but I'm not buying it…."

"Lieutenant, does it look like this man is joking?" O'Neill soberly asked, as he gestured at Teal'c--who glowered at her silently.

"You're _not_ joking?" Hailey asked, with a nervous look.

"There are indeed large predators in the water, Lieutenant," Teal'c insisted. "I have spent the last few minutes observing their wake on the surface of the water."

"Oh, well, that figures," Sam said with a chuckle. "And here I thought you were just relaxing, Teal'c. But you were actually scanning the waters for any sign of trouble."

Their conversation was interrupted by a low, bellowing moan that almost sounded as if it echoed all around them. Sam glanced out at the ocean just in time to see what looked like a whale as it broke the surface. It desperately writhed in the maw of an even larger, more malicious-looking creature.

"WHOA!" Jack exclaimed, as he stood up and pulled off his sunglasses. He, along with Sam and Hailey, all stared in shock at the great monstrosity--which looked like a bizarre cross between an octopus and a shark--as it dragged the flailing whale-like creature below the surface of the water for the last time. Thankfully, it was more than several miles out in the ocean--but Sam anxiously wondered if it could come ashore.

They stood quietly for a moment, during which time the churning waters beyond quickly settled back into gentle waves.

"As I have said," Teal'c intoned. "There are large predators in the water."

Sam nodded at him. Anyone else would have been gloating, but leave it to Teal'c to merely state the facts without bragging.

"Well, Lieutenant," Jack said, as he gave Hailey a gentle nudge in the back. "Still want to go swimming?"

"Um, no, sir," Hailey quickly replied, with a sheepish grin, as she anxiously took a few steps backwards from the edge of the water. "I no longer feel the urge."

"Perhaps if we tossed you in?" Teal'c said solemnly to Hailey.

"Great idea, T!" Jack said with a nod. "Maybe we could get a better look at Moby Dick out there while he chows down Hailey."

The petite Hailey backed away nervously as the lumbering Teal'c took a mock-threatening step towards her. "Um, Major," the young woman anxiously said. "Help, please, sir?"

With a roll of her eyes, Sam decided to end this silliness here and now. "Sir, I strongly suggest that feeding Lieutenant Hailey to the sea monster would be a bad idea, on account of the copious amount of paperwork it would generate."

"Oh, yeah!" Jack said with a shake of his head. "She's right, Teal'c. We'd better leave Hailey alone."

"Indeed," Teal'c said in agreement. "So we shall."

Hailey shot Sam an annoyed look. "Wait a minute, I wasn't killed not because of how valuable I am to the team, but because my death would cause too much paperwork? That's really nice to know!"

"Welcome to SG-1, Lieutenant!" Jack cheerily said, as he patted Hailey's shoulder.

**SG1: SVU**

'Good God, it's hot!' Olivia Benson thought, as she tried to fan herself with her hat--but to no avail. The temple chamber they were in had no ventilation whatsoever. It was like working in a steam bath.

Well, Daniel and Grace were really the only ones working, while Olivia sat on a stone balustrade behind them. As she watched them carefully go over the stone carvings in the wall, Olivia realized that Daniel and Grace were so immersed in their work that they barely noticed the heat.

There was one section of the ancient writing on the wall, which Daniel identified as being ancient Celtic, that presently drove the both of them crazy. It referred to a secret chamber within the temple that contained what was known only as 'the sacred knowledge.' Olivia had previously helped them to search the musty old temple over and over again--yet they could not find any indication of where this secret chamber might be.

That was when Grace realized that, perhaps she and Daniel were reading the writings wrong; that they had misinterpreted what was written. And so they went back to the wall and poured over the writings once more, while Olivia took up her station on the balustrade and watched them. She found herself wishing she could do more to help than just stand guard. But with the way these two focused so sharply on something, it was probably just as well that she watched their backs.

"Why, hello there!" Olivia said cheerily to a little Mumani boy who peered in at them from the entrance. Clad only in a loincloth, he shyly smiled at Olivia before disappearing form view. Olivia was tempted to follow the little guy and see if she could offer him some food from her backpack. Yet she did not want to leave Daniel and Grace unguarded. Despite the fact that there wasn't any real threat here, Olivia's past experience with SG-1 had taught her to never let her guard down for a moment.

After a reading over the stone carvings for the umpteenth time, Daniel shook his head and wearily said, "This is going nowhere…."

"No," Grace disagreed. "We just need to keep at it."

"We've been at this for hours, Grace," Daniel told her. "We could use a break."

"You go," Grace told him, as she kept staring at the stone carvings. "I'll stay and work on this some more."

Daniel glanced over at Olivia and said, "You look very hot."

"Tell me about it," Olivia muttered in annoyance, as she fanned herself with her hat once more. "This place is like a…" She stopped when she saw the slight smirk on his face. "What?"

"Um, actually, that wasn't what I meant," Daniel said with a smile. "The 'stripped down to a tank top' look that you've got going here really works for me."

Olivia flashed him a grin as she waved a finger at him. "Careful, Doctor Jackson. The Air Force doesn't like its personnel fraternizing while on the job, remember?"

Daniel nodded. "But, technically, neither you or I are Air Force personnel, Liv."

Olivia's grin faded when she saw Grace take an unstable step backwards as she wearily rubbed her eyes. "Oh, God, Daniel! That poor kid's dead on her feet!"

As he and Olivia walked over to Satterfield, Daniel said, "C'mon, Grace, we're all taking a break right now."

"We still haven't found this damn secret chamber, Daniel," Grace muttered, irritated. "You yourself said that this temple may have been left behind from a more technologically advanced time in the Mumani's past. The 'sacred knowledge' that these writings refer to may be whatever's in that chamber. Finding it may well be worth making the trip here!"

"And I couldn't agree with you more," Daniel said. "But whatever's in that chamber, wherever it is, will still be there, hiding from us, after we get back from our break."

"C'mon, Grace," Olivia added. "Let's just break for lunch. We'll go to the beach. It should be cooler there."

"You know, I overheard you telling Olivia that you both weren't Air Force personnel," Grace said, trying another tactic. "And you're right, Daniel. Technically, you can't make me leave here. You can't order me to do anything."

"No, we can't," Olivia said with a sly smile. "But we outnumber you, Grace. And we can pick you up and carry you out of here, if need be."

Grace stared at her in shock for a moment. Then her eyes narrowed as she said, "You really would do something like that, wouldn't you?"

Olivia grinned broadly at her. "Wanna try me?"

"Ok, ok," Grace relented, smiling. "I'll take a break with you guys…."

"There we go," Daniel said, nodding in approval. "Sometimes it's best to walk away from a problem--just get some time away from it--before you attack it again."

"Better that we all attack the problem," Grace said, as she slipped her backpack on, "then having you and Olivia attack _me_…."

**SG-1: SVU**

Dr. Rodney McKay strode merrily toward the gun range that was located within the vast Cheyenne Mountain complex that housed Stargate Command. It was time for another one of his Zat lessons, and while McKay was pleased to finally be learning how to handle the weapon--any weapon, really--there was another reason why he was so eager to attend these daily lessons.

Marine Sergeant Gail Emmaus, his Zat instructor, was a _major_ hottie!

A recent transfer to SG-3, the Marine Unit within the SGC, Sgt. Emmaus was a tall, lean young woman in her late twenties with reddish brown hair that she usually wore braided behind her head. She also had a splash of freckles across her cheeks that Rodney thought was the cutest thing he'd ever seen. Although Rodney had often insisted that she call him by his first name, Sgt. Emmaus always formally referred to him as Doctor McKay--which also drove McKay crazy in a good way. He just loved the way that she said his name. He had been slowly working up the nerve to ask her out--only he always kept backing off at the last minute.

But today, Rodney decided that he would finally ask the good Sergeant Emmaus out on a date…or coffee, just for coffee. Yes, that would be better. Start with something simple; something she couldn't turn down. And there was nothing better than a nice, simple cup of coffee.

'And who knows,' Rodney thought hopefully, 'if the cup of coffee should lead to an afternoon of wild sex…then, hey, who am I to say no?'

He entered the shooting range and found that the woman of his dreams already stood waiting for him. Sgt. Emmaus wore camouflage pants, combat boots, and a sweatshirt with the Marine Corps insignia on the front. In short, Rodney thought she looked gorgeous.

"Afternoon, Gail," he said with a nod, as he picked up his Zat. As she had instructed him, McKay checked to make sure it was fully charged up.

"Good afternoon, Doctor McKay," Sgt Emmaus replied. "Shall we begin?"

Rodney easily went through the training session with her; he had done this so many times before that it had now become second hand to him.

Once he was done, Rodney was pleasantly surprised to see Sgt. Emmaus gave him a broad smile. "Congratulations, Doctor."

"Really? For what?"

"You've completed your Zat training," Sgt Emmaus told him, as she scribbled something down on a clipboard. "You're now fully rated in the use of a Zat."

"I-I'm done?!" Rodney said, shocked. "Wow, that's great. Thank you."

"You're more than welcome," Sgt Emmaus replied. "You've been a great student."

Rodney's elation at finally acing his Zat training was tempered by a depressing thought: this would be his last lesson with Gail Emmaus. There would no longer be any reason for him to hang out with her. If Rodney was going to ask her out, it was now or never.

Taking a deep breath, Rodney steeled himself and said, "Say, um, I was just wondering if--you know--you'd might like to join me in a-a cup of coffee?"

Sgt Emmaus shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry, Doctor. But I don't drink coffee."

"Oh, well--uh--you know, it doesn't have to be coffee!" Rodney quickly said. "Um, it could be any kind of drink you'd wish--or, it doesn't even have to be a drink at all! I mean, we could just sit and eat…although eating without drinking can get a little--"

"Doctor McKay," Sgt Emmaus said firmly but gently. "I'm afraid I already have a lunch date. And here she is, now. Take care, sir."

'She?' Rodney thought, as he watched Sgt Emmaus greet a gorgeous young woman by the door. His eyes then grew wide when Rodney witnessed Emmaus and the woman--one of the civilian workers--walk out together.

Rodney left the gun range, and all kinky thoughts of himself having sex with Emmaus were replaced by kinky thoughts of Emmaus having hot sex with another woman--which Rodney found to be equally alluring, even if he wasn't in the fantasy himself.

As he strode past the main gate room, the side door was open, and Rodney saw Bill Lee standing there, speaking with a pair of men who stared at the powered down stargate as if it would attack them. One of the men was shorter than the other, with glasses and was sort of gnomish-looking, with his thinning hair parted to one side.

"Hey, Bill, what's going on?" Rodney asked, as he walked up to them.

"Rodney, I'd like for you to meet Dr. Radek Zelenka and Dr. Carson Beckett," Bill said, making the introductions. "They just joined the SGC. Gentlemen, this is Dr. Rodney McKay."

Rodney nodded in understanding. Thanks to the recent formation of the IOA, more people from other countries had joined the SGC, and now even the civilian personnel wore these new uniforms with the flag from their country of origin on their shoulder. McKay had avoided wearing his uniform--complete with the Canadian maple leaf on its shoulder--until Dr. Weir, the new civilian co-commander of the SGC, warned McKay that if he didn't wear his uniform, she would tell General Hammond on him.

As much as Rodney was annoyed by these good cop/bad cop antics that Weir always pulled, he reluctantly started wearing his uniform. General Hammond could be a very scary man.

Judging from their gawking expressions at the place, Zelanka and Carson were obviously both newbies. "First time seeing the stargate in action, huh?" Rodney asked.

"Aye," Beckett said, still looking shocked. He spoke with a Scottish accent. "It's an amazing piece of machinery."

The little gnomish-looking guy, Zelenka, muttered something in another language--which sounded like Czech to Rodney. Switching to English, Zelenka added, "I-It's just simply incredible!"

"Yes, well, I've already gone through it on the Mount Tanis mission," Rodney said smugly. "So, it gets to be pretty routine for an old pro like me."

"Hey, old pro," Bill said with a snide smile. "You ask Sgt Emmaus out for a date, yet?"

"Oh, glad you asked! You know what I just found out?" Rodney said in a hushed whisper. "Emmaus is a lesbian!"

Bill just slowly shook his head. "Just because a woman turns you down for a date doesn't automatically make her a lesbian, Rodney."

"No, no, she really _is_ a lesbian," Rodney insisted. "She went to have lunch with another woman--real hottie--I saw her!"

"Two women having lunch together?" Beckett said sarcastically. "Oh, aye, that definitely makes them lesbians!"

Rodney shot him an annoyed look, but before he could respond, Bill said, "At least you've still got one over on all of us, Rodney: you knew a real live space princess."

"Space princess?" Zelenka excitedly spoke up. "You mean like Princess Leia in Star Wars?"

"Even better my little friend," Rodney told him. "She looked just like Deja Thoris. You know, the Martian Princess from the John Carter: Warlord of Mars books?"

Zelenka smiled as he nodded thoughtfully. "Really? You mean she was dressed the same? Same type of scanty outfit?"

"As scanty as they come," Rodney said, smiling at the memory. "I didn't even know how it managed to stay on!"

"What about shoes?" Zelenka said thoughtfully, as if he were building a mental picture of this space princess within his mind. "What kind of shoes? Boots?"

"None," Rodney replied. "No shoes."

"Hmm, interesting," Zelenka said, with approval. "Yes, very interesting."

"Well, technically, Casey Novak wasn't _really_ a space princess," Bill chimed in. "She was a captured slave of the Netian Empire when she wore that outfit--which sort of makes sense; because why waste money elaborately dressing up your slaves, right? Speaking of which: Rodney, you free tonight? Because I'm starting a new Warcraft game in my quarters."

"Yeah," Rodney replied, "I can make it."

"A space _slave_," Zelenka said, still lost in his mental image of this exotic woman. "You mean like the Orion slave woman on Star Trek? Was Casey Novak's skin also green, too?"

Rodney was about to reply to this strange little man--until he did double take when he saw that Beckett was writing something on a sheet of paper. "What are you doing?"

"Writing the name of a new psychiatrist here at the SGC," Beckett replied, as he handed him the sheet of paper. "Her name's Dr. Kate Heightmeyer. She's very good, and just from listening to this conversation you're all having about women, I can tell that you lads _really_ need to have a nice little chat with her!"

"Oh, come on!" Rodney said with disgust. "Look, if you're gonna be working with us on the science team, you've really got to learn to lighten up!"

"I'm a medical doctor," Beckett told him, as he walked away. "I'll be working with Doctor Fraiser's team."

"Fine by me," Rodney muttered, as Beckett left the gate room. He glanced at Bill and added, "What a wet blanket! I hope I never have to deal with _that_ guy again!"

When he felt a tap on his arm, Rodney glanced down at Zelenka.

"Is there any chance that I could meet Casey Novak?" the Czech hopefully asked. "Would you happen to know where she is right now?"

**SG-1: SVU**

"All right, wait a minute!" Casey said with a smile. "This isn't a real game, is it?"

"Yes, it is!" the group of children loudly insisted in unison.

"You have to keep playing, Casey," Meekra told her. The little girl grimly waved her hands. "Or else you lose!"

Casey glanced over at her lover Char'el. The hulking Jaffa sat on a bench trying to hide his laughter--but it was a futile gesture. He was enjoying himself too much watching Casey trying to play this intangible game on the checkered marble floor in this unused corner of the Hak'tyl, the Ha'tak class vessel that they "borrowed" from the shipyards on Mount Tanis.

Although Casey had made the decision to join Char'el and the others on a permanent basis with her eyes wide open and knowing fully what to expect, a part of her was still intimidated at how hard it might be to get used to this new life. However, Casey was soon pleasantly surprised at how quickly she had become used to living aboard the space ship. For one thing, it was pretty much Casual Friday everyday on board this floating behemoth. Casey still recalled the first time she had showed up at a council meeting with Io'tan and the others while dressed in her business suit, the same sort of clothes that she'd worn when she was an ADA in New York City. Although nobody said anything, everybody at the meeting, including Io'tan, stared at her in puzzlement to the point where Casey knew something was wrong.

Later, when they were alone, Char'el asked, "Is the climate control not warm enough to suit you?"

"No, it's fine," Casey had replied, confused. "Why do you ask?"

"It is that you are so…overdressed," the Jaffa bluntly told her.

If any other man had said that, it would have been a crude remark. But coming from Char'el, who was still far more innocent in many ways than Casey, she found it to be adorable. She realized what he had meant: that all of the people at the meeting had been dressed in loose, toga-style clothing; a fashion statement that was a holdover from their former life on Mount Tanis--which in part was reminiscent of the scant clothing worn in ancient Rome, Greece and Egypt.

From that point on, Casey changed her wardrobe to better suit her new surroundings. And at the next council meeting, Casey showed up clad in a toga ensemble that she had recently acquired that was similar to what the others wore. As for everyday casual wear, she wore pretty much what she had on now: just shorts with a t-shirt. The feeling was very liberating; Casey felt like she was on board a luxury cruiser sailing the South Seas--at least until she glanced out a window and saw either the blackness of space, or the multi-colored, paisley pattern of hyperspace.

"If you think you know how to play this game better than me," Casey told a still-laughing Char'el, "then why don't you get out here and play it, too? I could use a partner."

Yet before the Jaffa could even get up, a little boy burst out from the crowd of children and ran over to Casey.

"NOLI!" the children all angrily cried.

"It would appear that you have your partner in this game," Char'el said good-naturedly.

Casey smiled broadly down at Noli, who hugged her bare leg tightly. "What would Grace think if she knew you were playing this game with another girl, huh, Noli?"

"Dunno," the boy said, with a broad smile.

"You remember Grace, right?"

"Yeah," Noli replied, as his smile grew even broader.

"What are you waiting for?" Mekra shouted impatiently. "You have to move two spaces!"

"Ok," Casey said. Hand in hand, she and Noli stepped diagonally across two of the checker patterns on the floor.

But just as Casey glanced over at Mekra for new orders, her eyes went wide when she heard a whooping klaxon sound that echoed throughout the ship. Everyone froze in place, except Char'el, who stood up and--now all business--gestured sternly at the children.

"Go with Casey," he told them. Char'el then glanced at Casey and added, "Once you get them to safety, meet me on the peltac."

After Casey had shepherded the children to their families, who had gathered in one of the ship's safe zones, she made her way to the peltac. She realized there was something drastically wrong just from the Jaffa who guarded the entrance to the peltac--they looked anxious and wary as they permitted Casey to enter the nerve center of the ship.

Casey found Io'tan standing with Char'el and Lennox, the peltac commander who served as the ship's captain under Io'tan. The trio regarded a tactical display screen as if it were a poisonous creature that had snuck onto the peltac.

"What is it?" Casey asked. "What's wrong?"

"Show her," Io'tan said to Lennox. While the peltac commander called up the information on his console, she added, "Do you recall how we were headed for the planet Delis?"

Casey nodded. Delis was a far flung outpost of the Netian Empire which had announced its independence shortly after the fall of Mut. "Yes. To see if we could talk about having free trade with them. What happened?"

Io'tan pointed at the main view screen. "This happened."

There were two Ha'tak class ships parked in orbit above Delis. The symbol on their sides was that of two arrows crossed over a shield--the symbol of the Netian Empire. Casey was surprised to see that it was still in use, considering Lord Ba'al had conquered the empire when he seized its capitol, Mount Tanis.

"We are safely hidden behind the system's only gas giant," Char'el assured Casey. "They have not noticed us."

"I see. Looks like we won't be trading with Delis, huh? Not with those two monsters in orbit." Casey's eyes went wide as a frightening thought occurred to her. "Hey, were they waiting to ambush us?"

"That does not appear to be the case," Char'el replied. "If they wanted to ambush us, they would have hidden their ships much better than this. Besides, there is a third Ha'tak vessel that landed on the surface. It would be too exposed should a battle erupt in space."

"Three Ha'tak ships!" Casey exclaimed, sounding impressed. "Ba'al really wanted to make sure Delis remained under his leash, huh?"

"There is something wrong here, beyond the fact that the troops of Ba'al have reclaimed the planet," Io'tan said, with a thoughtful shake of her head. "One such vessel could do the job sufficiently, and yet Ba'al sends three? It is--as you often say, Casey--overkill."

"Perhaps, by an overbearing use of force, Ba'al wishes to send a message?" Lennox suggested.

But not even Char'el bought it. "Lord Yu has been putting up an epic fight against Ba'al. It would not be wise of Ba'al to divert so many ships from the war effort like this, just to send a message to an obscure outpost such as Delis."

"What if Delis isn't so obscure after all?" Casey said. "I mean, what if the reason Ba'al sent three Ha'tak ships here was because there was something worth getting from Delis?"

"Something valuable," Char'el agreed with a nod. "Yes. That makes sense."

"We know Delis has a large and profitable marketplace," Io'tan spoke up. "But I doubt you mean Ba'al has sent his troops just to go shopping there."

"No," Char'el said. "Whatever Ba'al is after on Delis, perhaps it could be on the planet itself. But I am at a loss to even guess what exactly could be so valuable on Delis that Ba'al would send three of his ships."

"Then I guess we're just going to have to go in and find out, huh?" Casey said with a smile.

**SG-1: SVU**

'This is more like it,' Olivia thought with relief.

She and Grace both stood barefoot on the beach, enjoying the cool breeze, as they watched the impromptu baseball game that Jack had set up between SG-1 and the Mumani children who had originally gathered to watch them. Sam told Olivia earlier over lunch that the children had been extremely bashful, hiding within the tree line, until they had abruptly come out.

"It was strange," Sam had said. "One moment, they were scared to death of us, and the next, they're running around, as playful as can be."

Olivia smiled as she saw the native children were struggling with the rules of baseball just as much as she was. Daniel looked lost, as well--yet, being the good-natured sport that he was, he still played the game with a grim determination on second base. Sam guarded first base, while Jennifer was on third. Teal'c served as the referee--which surprised Olivia, who didn't realize the Jaffa knew that much about baseball. 'The more I get to know Teal'c, the more he amazes me,' she thought, smiling.

Olivia and Grace had been deployed to what Jack called the outfield. The ball was a solid rubber number that Jack had in his pack, and the bat was the straightest wooden stick that they could find on the beach. Jack pitched the ball to several boys and a few girls, who kept missing--which prompted Jack to call time out so he could give them some quick batting lessons.

"Hey, isn't that helping the opposing team?!" Daniel jokingly called. "Whose side are you on, Jack?"

Olivia did a double take when she thought she saw the dense jungle foliage behind her move suddenly.

"Something wrong, Liv?" Grace asked. She now looked much better and more relaxed after having eaten.

"Just the wind, which feels lovely," Olivia replied, as she watched the foliage grow still once more. Then, with a slight frown, she added, "Um, Grace, what's _our_ job here again?"

"Catch the ball if it lands out here," Grace patiently reminded her. "Then throw it back."

"Right," Olivia said with a quick nod. "Got it."

"You sure, Liv?" Grace asked, smiling.

"No, but I'll manage," Olivia replied with a grin. "It's too bad Casey's not here. She's the SVU's softball champion."

Once he was finished with his batting lessons, Jack returned to the center mound and called, "Ready?"

When the boy at the plate nodded confidently, Teal'c called for time in and the game was back on. Jack pitched the ball, and the boy swung the bat with all his might.

Olivia wasn't sure if it was a result of Jack's tips, or just beginner's luck, but the kid 'knocked it out of the ballpark,' so to speak. She smiled as the ball flew right over her head at a wide arc and landed several yards behind her.

"Hey! All right!" Olivia cheered.

Her smile faded when she saw Sam waving her hands at her as the young batter ran right past her at first base. "Get the ball, Liv! Get the ball!"

"Liv!" Grace cried, pointing at the ball. "Get it!"

"Oh, damn," Olivia muttered, as she frantically ran back and retrieved the ball. She had never played in the softball games that the SVU held against other squads in the department--but was always cheered on her team as an energetic spectator. Now Olivia wished she _had_ played, because she had no frigging idea what she was doing.

She picked up the ball and held it up for all to see. "I got it!"

"Throw it back!" Grace shouted at her. "Liv, throw the ball back!"

"Uh, ok," Olivia muttered, as she tossed the ball back where she found it--it wound up landing deep within the dense jungle foliage. "Don't know why I bothered to get it in the first place, if you wanted me to--"

"No, I meant throw it back to the team!" Grace said, laughing hysterically, as she ran past Olivia to get the ball. "Jeez, Liv!"

"Oh, crud," Olivia said sheepishly, as she watched the young boy ran safely past the remaining two bases, with Daniel and Jennifer standing helplessly by. When the boy made it back to home plate, Teal'c declared him to be safe, then listed the score as Mumani--one, SG-1--zero.

Jack turned and grimaced at her. "Excuse me, Liv, but whose side are _you_ on again?"

"Hey, I'm learning this game as I'm playing it," she shot back. "So gimme a break, huh?"

After a beat, Sam looked concerned. "What's taking Lt. Satterfield so long?"

"Yeah, let's go, Grace!" Jennifer called, grinning. "SG-1 has got a game to lose!"

"That's the only ball we have," Jack told Olivia. "So if we lose it, then that's the end of the game right here."

"I'll go and help her, all right?" Olivia offered, as she ducked into the foliage with an annoyed sigh. Olivia frowned as she parted palm leaves large enough to use as the main sail on a boat.

When she came to a small clearing, Olivia stopped short when she found Grace desperately writhing around in the sand. For a brief moment, Olivia thought the young woman was having some kind of a fit--until she saw the ropes that entwined Grace's body, binding her wrists and ankles together. She was further gagged and blindfolded for good measure.

"Oh, my G--" Before Olivia could even take another step, she was grabbed from behind by several hands. She tried to instinctively fight back, but her attackers were too swift, and too overpowering. Olivia's mouth was being stuffed with a gag while her hands were being tied together behind her back. Then she was then blindfolded at the same time her feet were bound together. Whoever these guys were, they were fast and proficient--Olivia had been made helpless within less than a minute, and all while she was still standing.

'But who were they? The Mumani?' Olivia wondered, as she stood awkwardly on her bound feet while a pair of hands held her steady. 'I thought they were friendly!'

Olivia heard Grace let out a muffled grunt, then realized that somebody had picked her up from the ground. 'It'll probably be my turn now to be--'

Her thought was cut off as the rough hands that held her now lifted Olivia off the ground and effortlessly slung her trussed up body over a muscular bare shoulder. Olivia's mid-section rested on his shoulder while her head and upper torso dangled in mid-air. Whoever her abductor was, he was well-built, and smart. The gag prevented her from calling out to her SG-1 comrades, and she couldn't even see where they were taking her, thanks to the blindfold.

'Not good,' Olivia thought grimly, as she felt herself being helplessly carried off to God knew where. 'This is so _not_ good at all….'

**To be continued.....**


	2. Chapter 2

_I'd like to thank M.C. Herrera, RosalieTheBeautyQueen, Barbarossa Rotbart and ray1 for their comments on chapter one. Thanks!  
_  
**Stargate: SVU 3**

**Chapter Two**

"Damn it," O'Neill grimly muttered, as he ran to the edge of the beach and peered past the opening in the foliage where he just saw Olivia go through. Neither she or Satterfield were anywhere to be seen. He saw their footprints in the sand. They had run further into the dense foliage, towards a clearing. Here, the footprints were a jumble.

'They were taken,' O'Neill realized, as he cursed under his breath. He turned back to SG-1 and shouted, "Carter, Daniel, Hailey: collect all our gear and get over here. Teal'c!"

The Jaffa ran over, clad in his combat vest, with his gear hanging over one shoulder and already holding his staff weapon. He looked ready for anything.

"Looks like they were both abducted by somebody," O'Neill told him, as he pointed out the tracks.

Teal'c took one look at the tracks and said, "A group abducted them. There are signs of a struggle, here. They may have been either bound or rendered unconscious right here, then carried off."

Carter, Daniel and Hailey had arrived just then, and when Daniel heard Teal'c, he anxiously said, "How can you be sure they weren't killed outright?"

"Then why bother to take the bodies?" Hailey asked him.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," O'Neill told them. Turning to Teal'c, he asked, "So they were taken here. Any idea who took them? Gou'ald?"

Teal'c shook his head as he began following the tracks deeper into the jungle along a sandy pathway. "Their abductors were also barefoot," he called back. "They are most likely not Goa'uld."

"The Mumani?" Sam said with a shocked look, as she handed O'Neill his vest and gear. "Sir, that's impossible; they're so peaceful!"

"Why would they want to kidnap Olivia and Grace?" Hailey asked, equally stunned. She carried Grace's gear as well as her own on her back.

"That's what we're going to find out," O'Neill told them, as they started after Teal'c. "C'mon!"

Yet before he followed the others, O'Neill took the time for a glance back at the beach. He saw that the children whom they had been playing baseball with were now all gone. O'Neill shook his head as he followed his team into the dense jungle foliage. The kids could have simply taken off because they were frightened by SG-1's frenzied reaction to the abduction of their comrades.

'Or the little buggers could have been sent to us to act as a diversion, so that the Mumani could abduct Olivia and Grace,' he thought. Either way, O'Neill blamed himself for this; if he hadn't been so lax, if he hadn't have lowered his guard, none of this would have happened. 'And now, thanks to my stupidity, Olivia and Grace might wind up getting hurt…or worse!'

**SG1: SVU**

'Ow!' Olivia thought, as she was roughly placed face down on a cool, hard surface. Her head was jerked back as somebody undid the knot on her blindfold. Olivia was grateful to be able to see once her blindfold was removed.

She glanced over to her left and was relieved to see Grace was right next to her, also laying face down on the floor. She may have been just as helpless as Olivia, trussed up as they both were, but at least Grace appeared to be all right, for the time being.

Olivia risked a glance over her shoulder. Their abductors turned out to be a group of young Mumani men in full tribal warrior garb. Their bold body tattoos and flashy headgear were meant to be intimidating--and for the most part, it worked. Olivia, for one, was suitably afraid of them. One of them stepped forward, and by the regal way that he held himself, as well as the subordinate manner in which the others reacted towards him, Olivia figured he was the leader.

He stepped in-between the two bound women and pulled both Olivia's and Grace's gags down.

"Oh, God, that tasted horrible," Grace sputtered with disgust. "I really don't wanna know where my gag's been before!"

Olivia warily glanced up at their captor, who glared down intently at her--then she gave a concerned look at Grace. "You all right?"

"Yeah," Grace replied. "You?"

"Um, yeah," Olivia muttered, as she tried to free herself. But her wrists and ankles were bound with dried vines that kept her tied securely. She peered back over her shoulder up at the leader. "What do you suppose he wants us for?"

Grace twisted her tied body so that she lay on her side, all the better to see the man who stood over them. Then, speaking in a slow, halting version of the Mumani language--which Daniel had earlier told Olivia was based on ancient Gaelic--Grace posed Olivia's very question to the man.

As if in answer, the man gestured at something all around them and replied in the Mumani language. While Olivia didn't understand a word of what he said, based on the harsh tone of his voice, it sounded like he was demanding something of them.

'Oh please, don't tell me this is some kind of a ritual, like a human sacrificial ceremony,' Olivia thought with dread. 'To have traveled this far, and seen this much wonder, only to just be brutally killed…please, not like this…please!'

"Wait, you're speaking too fast…." Grace said to the Mumani warrior leader, as she shook her head in puzzlement. She spoke slowly and carefully in his language.

The man then gestured to one of his warriors, who dropped a rucksack on the ground that looked as if it belonged to SG-1. It was military issue, and bore the same light, desert/tropical camouflage pattern that they all presently wore.

The leader bent down, grabbed both of the tied women by their arms, and then hauled them up so that they were now sitting up on the floor with the rucksack between them.

Olivia glanced down and saw various supplies--flashlights, a flare gun, and bottled water, among other stuff--in the rucksack and wondered where the Mumani had even gotten this. 'They've must have stolen it,' she realized. 'But for what reason?'

"He says that I can use these tools," Grace said, "to help him."

When Grace asked the leader of the warriors another question in the Mumani language in a humble fashion, he spread his arms out and swept his hands around him in response.

For the first time, Olivia got a good look at where she and Grace had been taken, and the mere sight of the place had taken her breath away.

It was the interior of another temple, but one that was far different than the hot, dingy place they had been working in for the past few days. This temple gleamed with walls that were seemingly made of gold. In the center of the vast chamber--which had large vertical openings in the upper walls--was a water fountain that sprayed a large volume of pure water upwards towards the ceiling. There was an enormous stone head that somehow appeared to float in midair in-between the columns of water over the fountain. The features of the stone head were smooth; worn away from having been washed over by the water for many centuries now.

"Oh, my God! Grace, are you seeing this?"

"Yeah," she said, sounding awed.

"Where the hell are we?"

"I have no idea, Liv," Grace replied. She glanced at the leader of the warriors and respectfully asked another question.

The man replied quickly, and with a broad smile.

"What'd he say, Grace?"

"I asked him where we were," she answered, looking scared. "And he just said: 'your new home.'"

**SG1-SVU**

"This is exciting," Casey said with a broad smile. She looked herself over in the full length mirror once more. She was clad in a tunic with pants and boots; this outfit was topped off by a green cloak and a hood. This would be her official undercover outfit while she and Char'el scouted around on Delis. She even had a belt with a knife in a sheath. "I feel like I'm in the Lord Of The Rings!"

"The Lord of the what?"

She stepped out of the cargo compartment of the teltac ship and strode over to the pilot's station, where Char'el sat. He was clad in a male version of Casey's outfit. "Didn't I tell you about those films?" Casey asked. "They're based on a series of books. I have them loaded on my iPod."

"The books?"

"No, the films." Casey frowned. "You know, I should have brought the books with me, as well. Darn it, that's something else I forgot to pack…."

"Your world is odd," Char'el said, as he piloted the ship into the planet's atmosphere. "One would think a story about schoolboys trapped on an island would not be enough to inspire so many books and movies."

Casey stared at him, puzzled. Then, when the realization struck her, she shook her head. "No, you're confusing The Lord Of The Rings with The Lord Of The Flies."

"What is the difference?"

"Plenty. Lord Of The Flies is the one about schoolchildren trapped on an island. Lord Of The Rings is an epic fantasy adventure about elves, monsters, and fantastical places--which, come to think of it, is exactly what _my_ life has become, lately…."

"Elves?" Char'el smiled at her. "When have _you_ ever encountered elves?"

"Never." Yet Casey somberly thought back to the moment when she was still a slave on Mount Tanis, and running for her very life from a Jaffa mounted on a raptor. The very memory made her shudder. "But I've seen my fair share of monsters."

Char'el, sensing Casey's discomfort, took her hand in his own. "I wish I did not bring you along for this voyage," Char'el said darkly. "It is too dangerous."

Casey gently caressed the side of his face. "We all agreed that having a man and a woman go on this trip would be better--it would bring less suspicion if people saw us as merely a husband and wife shopping in the marketplace, right? And I've now got some experience with this kind of stuff, anyway."

"Yes," Char'el replied. "But I still feel…uneasy."

"I can take care of myself. Besides, it serves you right for not having female Jaffa," Casey chided him, as she took a seat across from him at the controls. "But then, I'm not sure I would have preferred having a female Jaffa pretend to be your wife, anyway…oh God, I can't just shut up, can I? Guess I'm a little edgy."

Char'el reached out and squeezed her hand. "It is good to be edgy just before a mission," he told her. "Use the edgy feeling, Casey--let it fuel you, make you more alert and on guard. Besides, my love, this is just a simple reconnaissance mission. We will not engage the enemy in battle. If something goes wrong, we will flee. We are only here to take a discreet look around."

"Right, that's all it is," Casey agreed. The teltac broke clear of the upper atmosphere and she could see the town of Martel directly below. The snow-covered fields that surrounded the town reminded her of why they were so heavily dressed.

"After all," Char'el said, as he began to bring the teltac in for its final descent and landing, "what could go wrong?"

Casey's eyes were now fixated on the massive Ha'tak vessel that had landed on the outskirts of Martel, and whose sheer size easily overwhelmed the entire town itself. To an anxious Casey, the pyramid-shaped ship looked like a large, slumbering monster--one that could be awakened with a vengeful fury at any moment.

"What could go wrong?" Casey nervously repeated. "Oh, yeah…sure…."

**SG-1: SVU**

"No!" Grace said angrily. "Oh, give me a break! I can't work like this!"

She stood defiantly before the leader of their abductors, shaking her head. They had untied her feet, yet her hands remained bound behind her back. Apparently, from what Olivia could gather from the one sided conversation, these warriors had inferred that Grace was an expert in deciphering the countless words that were written on the walls of the temple--and they had abducted her, and brought her here, so that she could "work her magic" once again, so to speak. Olivia figured that she had been grabbed only because she was unlucky enough to come looking for Grace.

It was obvious that the lead warrior, who called himself Thoran, was hoping Grace could unlock the secrets of this place for him. Just what secrets they were supposed to be was still a mystery. But Olivia suspected that this temple may well be the hidden chamber containing the 'sacred knowledge' that the inscriptions told of in the other temple.

'Nice to have finally found it,' she wryly thought. 'Despite the fact that Grace and I had to get kidnapped in the process….'

Olivia watched as Grace continued to speak intently to Thoran, who merely smiled in a smug manner as he towered over her. And here was Grace, who was still half dressed from her outing at the beach, with her hands tied behind her back and surrounded by a group of dangerous-looking warriors--and yet she still managed to hold her own. This slender young woman of Korean descent, who was normally a very kind, gentle and unassuming person, could be a real tigress when she had to be. Olivia admired her spunk; while at the same time hoping that Grace knew enough not to push it too far.

While all of the warriors' attention were focused on Grace, Olivia discreetly reached into the rucksack and pulled out the flare gun with her tied hands. Thoran and his boys had probably discounted the flare gun as being a potential weapon thanks to its harmless looking bright red plastic design, which probably made it look like a frivolous toy.

But rather than use it as a weapon, Olivia intended to use the flare gun for what it was designed: to shoot up a flare over the jungle skies. She knew that SG-1 had to be hot on their trail by now--they might even be somewhere in the immediate area. Seeing a flare shot from this temple would only help to get them here faster. The only problem was that she would have to shoot the gun from behind her back.

'Wonder if the SGC gives marksmanship medals for shooting with your hands tied behind your back?' Olivia wondered, as she carefully lined up the shot as best she could. Thankfully, the nearest window that she was aiming for was so massive that it was actually hard to miss.

"Oh, yeah?!" Grace said angrily, as Thoran poked his finger in her chest while he spoke something in a menacing tone. "Well, your mother dresses you funny, ok?"

When Olivia felt good about the shot, she squeezed the trigger on the flare gun. The flare shot out with a sizzling sound and careened straight out the massive open window, where it exploded in the daytime sky into a mini-fireball.

Thoran roared a command in his native tongue as he glared out the window with a mixture of shock and fear. He gestured at Grace, who was grabbed by one of the other warriors and brought back over to where Olivia sat. Once she was placed on the ground, Grace's ankles were quickly bound together once more by the man.

While Grace was being securely trussed up, Olivia watched with a smile as Thoran and the other warriors all went running out the main entrance. They mistook the flare for the opening salvo of an attack--probably from the remainder of SG-1. This was actually a much better result than Olivia could have dared hoped for.

The warrior who retied Grace's ankles remained behind to watch over them warily. Olivia very discreetly placed the flare gun on the ground, just out of sight of their guard. Yet from where she sat, Grace easily saw it and stared at her with amazement. "You just shot that?" she whispered in disbelief. "You're a madwoman, Liv!"

"I was NYPD; being crazy is part of the job requirement," Olivia replied. She glanced with an irksome look at their guard. "I really wish this guy wasn't here. Can he understand us?"

"No, but he might not like us--" Grace started to say.

The warrior abruptly began shouting angrily at them in his language as he reached down towards Grace.

"--talking to each other," Grace managed to say, just before she was re-gagged by the warrior.

"Ok, now, this is just rude…." was all Olivia got out, just before her gag was pulled back into her mouth.

The warrior gave them a cruel smile as he stood over them with his hands arrogantly on his hips, as if to say, 'how do you like _that_?'

He was still smiling even after his body was hit with a dazzling blue bolt of energy that briefly cascaded all over him. When he fell to the floor, he landed face-down, and Olivia really hoped that he would wake up with a nasty headache.

Olivia glanced back and was very pleased to see Daniel standing there, holding a Zat gun. Sam also appeared, kneeling down next to Grace with a knife in her hand. "You guys all right?"

"Much better now," Olivia said, grateful, as Daniel gave her a quick kiss after removing her gag. Then he went to work cutting the vines that tied her wrists together behind her back. Once her hands were free, Olivia let out a sigh of relief as she rubbed her wrists.

As Daniel and Sam were busy freeing them, Hailey stood careful watch over everybody with her Zat--and Olivia could not help but notice that she, along with Daniel and Sam, were still barefoot. Apparently they had all simply thrown their combat vests over their tank tops and gave chase through the jungle, straight from the ball game on the beach.

"Jeez, you guys were so eager to find us that you didn't even stop to get fully dressed, huh?" Olivia said, amused. "Grace and I are flattered."

Sam just flashed one of her brilliant smiles at Olivia as she finished untying Grace. "And to think, just a few hours ago, I was oh-so-worried about wearing the proper duty attire…now look at me!"

"I should start calling you Sheena," Olivia said with a smile. After Daniel helped her up top her feet, he gave her a Zat, as well as a little hug. He was all sweaty from the jungle, but Olivia didn't care; she was just grateful to be in his arms again.

When they parted their embrace, Olivia saw that O'Neill and Teal'c were standing guard by the main entranceway. O'Neill turned to them and casually said, "Brace yourselves! Slappy and his boys are coming back!"

The Mumani warriors, led by Thoran, all charged into the temple with fierce battle cries and their Stone Age weapons held up high. Olivia was tempted to join the fray, but thanks to the expert Zat shooting between O'Neill and Teal'c, the Mumani were all shot down into unconsciousness on the floor--all save for Thoran, who stood there wielding his club defiantly. Although he had ordered his men to attack, he himself did not.

He shouted something in his language at them--which made Daniel chuckle slightly. "He's issuing a challenge to us," Daniel told the group, shaking his head in disbelief. "He wants to take on one of us in hand to hand combat! 'Warrior to warrior,' he says!"

"Some guys just don't know when to quit," O'Neill muttered, as he raised his Zat to shoot Thoran.

"O'Neill," Teal'c said, as he suddenly stepped forward. "I should like to accept his challenge. Warrior to warrior."

O'Neill shrugged. "Very well. Have at it."

Teal'c handed his Zat to O'Neill, then he strode towards Thoran with his staff weapon. Teal'c stopped just a few feet away from Thoran and held up his staff weapon with both hands. Olivia realized that this was some sort of unspoken message.

Thoran appeared to understand, for he charged at Teal'c with a ferocious roar. Teal'c blocked the Mumani's attack with the staff weapon. Then--just as Thoran backed off--Teal'c swiftly swung the staff weapon down and knocked Thoran's legs out from under him.

The Mumani landed on his back with a grunt, and before he could even recover from this blow, Teal'c stood over him and--sweeping the staff weapon just like a golf club--bashed him in the face with the business end of the staff weapon.

"Oooo!" Hailey said, as she and the others cringed in response to that savage blow--one that instantly ended the fight, for Thoran now lay sprawled out on the floor, unconscious.

"Way to handle business, T," O'Neill said with a nod of approval.

Teal'c merely bowed slightly as he accepted his Zat back from O'Neill. Olivia wasn't surprised to see that he didn't even break a sweat.

"You two all right?" a concerned O'Neill asked Olivia and Grace, as he and Teal'c came over to them.

"Fine, sir," Grace replied with a nod.

"Yep, I'm fine as well," Olivia told O'Neill. "Great timing, guys!"

"If anybody's got great timing here, it's you," O'Neill told her. "When we first arrived, we were trying to come up with a diversion, to get this crowd away from you and Lt. Satterfield, until you shot that flare gun. How did you know to fire that when you did?"

"I didn't," Olivia admitted with a shrug. "I was hoping you guys were in the area, and that the flare would give you an idea of where we were. I never thought it would send the warriors running out of here--nor did I expect one of them to remain behind to watch over us!"

O'Neill gave her with a look of admiration. "Ballsy move, Liv. But a good one. I like it."

"You really have to teach me how to shoot behind my back," Sam said jokingly. She glanced around at the knocked out Mumani and added, "Looks like we got them all. Do you suppose they were working for King Murtas, sir?"

"Satterfield doesn't seem to think so," O'Neill said, as he gestured at the young lieutenant, who firmly shook her head.

"Thoran, the one who fought Teal'c, was their leader, sir," she reported. "And he made it clear to me that he wanted me to unlock the 'magic' of this place for him so that he could use it to kill Murtas and take over as king of the Mumani himself."

"He was planning a coup," Teal'c said with distain.

"Thoran's no better than Ba'al," Olivia muttered. "Only without the tacky wardrobe."

"He said he found this place by himself and kept its location a secret from the king and the other Mumani," Grace continued. "He obviously knew it was a very special place, but didn't know what to do with it--until we showed up and started translating the writings in the other temple."

"And he figured all he had to do was capture you," Hailey said, "and you'd unlock the secrets of the universe, or something."

"Well, we've obviously found the chamber of the sacred knowledge, which was mentioned in the other temple," Daniel said, as he gazed around, awe-struck. "Grace, did Thoran mention anything specifically about what was here? Was he looking for any kind of a weapon in particular?"

Grace shook her head. "Nothing like that. He just figured there would be some kind of magic here that I'd unlock for him."

"And he would have gotten away with it, too," O'Neill said, with mock-grimness, "had it not been for us darn, interfering kids!"

Both Olivia and Sam exchanged a frown. "Did he just quote a line from Scooby Doo?" Olivia asked.

"And you're surprised by this?" Sam wearily replied.

"What's more surprising?" Daniel asked with smile. "That Jack's quoting Scooby Doo, or that you guys recognize it?"

"Hey," O'Neill loudly called with surprise. "There's a big, honking floating head in the middle of the room!"

When Sam saw the floating stone head for the first time, she was suitably impressed. "Oh, wow, it really is…floating!"

"See?" O'Neill said triumphantly. "Is that cool, or what?"

"What's holding it up in the air?" Hailey asked, as she stared at it in both amazement and puzzlement.

"That's for you and Carter to figure out," O'Neill told them. "It now looks like you two are gonna be very busy here after all, huh?"

"Oh, yes sir," Sam replied with a broad, excited grin. "Finally, a real challenge!"

Olivia smiled as she watched how quickly Daniel got caught up in the inscriptions on the walls. He pointed out one set of inscriptions, which were larger and more prominent than the rest, to Grace as being a good place for them to start. Meanwhile, Sam and Hailey began their examination of the fountain with its strange, floating head.

"Isn't this great?" O'Neill said, as he stood beaming next to Olivia and Teal'c. "Everybody's safe and sound once more. And thanks to this place, this trip here won't be a total waste after all."

"Indeed," Teal'c agreed.

"Don't count your chickens until they hatch, Jack," Olivia warned. "I mean, for all we know, the big secret this place will reveal might be nothing more than a recipe for onion dip."

O'Neill shot her an irritated look. "You know, Liv, I think I liked you better when you were gagged…."

**SG-1: SVU**

General George Hammond sat at his desk, going over paperwork. It was a mundane task, but one that needed to be done. And he really didn't mind the quiet time.

'So much for the quiet time,' Hammond thought with a scowl, as the alarm went off all over the base. It was accompanied by Walter's voice, which urgently asked for him to report to the gate room.

Hammond left his office and went down the stairs to the main control room of the SGC. Doctor Janet Fraiser stood anxiously by, while Sgt. Walter Harriman swiveled around in his chair at the console. Behind him, the gate was fully operational. "SG-9 is coming back hot, sir," he reported.

"What?!" Hammond said with disbelief. Among the SG teams that worked at the SGC, SG-9 had been designated as strictly being a diplomatic group, who were sent only to open negotiations with alien governments who were initially deemed to be potential allies by whatever SG team that did the original recon. For SG-9 to be coming back hot--which usually meant that they were under fire--was highly unusual.

What made the situation worse for Hammond was the fact that Dr. Elizabeth Weir, his new civilian partner in running the SGC, had went along with SG-9 on this mission, due to her expertise in diplomacy.

"Did they say what the problem was?" he asked Walter.

Harriman shook his head. "Major Sheppard only said that they were under fire and would be coming in hot, sir."

"I thought SG-5 reported that the Kelownans were more than happy to neogitate with us, sir," Fraiser asked under her breath.

"As did we all, Doctor," Hammond replied with a shake of his head. "I don't know what changed that situation."

"Here they come, now!" Harriman announced.

Hammond nodded when he saw the entire team had just emerged from the stargate, including Weir. They all had the exhausted, drained appearance of having just run for their lives.

"Close the gate!" Sheppard frantically called to the control room. He held his zat gun at the ready. "They're right behind us!"

"Close the iris and shut it down, Walter," Hammond commanded, as he and Fraiser left the control room.

Yet when he emerged in the gate room, Hammond quickly realized that he had miscounted earlier. 'Damn it, there's somebody missing….'

"Where's Lt. Kelso?" a wide-eyed Fraiser asked the group on the stargate ramp.

"Dead," Sheppard said solemnly. "I regret to inform you, sirs, that Lt. Kelso is dead."

Behind Sheppard, Sgt. Donald Brock comforted a distraught Lt. Colleen Elman, who burst into tears at this news.

"No," Weir said, firmly shaking her head. She walked over to Sheppard and Hammond. "He's not dead, because we're all going back for him. All right?"

"Doctor Weir…." Sheppard began to say.

"No, John, listen to me," she said, visibly upset. "We have Marines, ok? SG-3. They can storm the--"

"Elizabeth!" Sheppard held her by the shoulders and gently added, "He's dead. The Kelownans--those rat bastards--sealed Kelso in the lab, right along with their own scientists. The Marines would be risking their lives going after an irradiated corpse."

Weir's shoulders slumped as she leaned against the ramp railing in utter defeat.

Hammond wanted nothing more than to ask what had happened--he wanted to hear the whole story right now. But that would have to wait. These people were drained from their experience, and understandably so, for the SGC had just lost one of its own today.

But the mere mention of radiation had perked up Fraiser, who asked, "Have any of you been exposed to radiation?"

"I don't know," Sheppard said, with a shake of his head. "Dr. Weir and I were in an observation room near the lab when the accident happened. We were supposed to be protected in there, but the glass broke when Lt. Kelso shot it out. He went in and shut down the device before it could explode."

Fraiser turned to the control room and called, "Get Med Team One in here, on the double! Inform them we have possible radiation exposure."

Walter nodded. "Yes, doctor."

"A team from the infirmary will come and check you out for radiation," Fraiser told what was left of SG-9. "They'll bring a change of clothes for you and then escort you to the infirmary."

Turning to Hammond, Fraiser added, "Sir, we should leave until they've been cleared."

"Very well, Doctor."

Yet before they left, Weir said, "General Hammond? I'd just like for it to be noted that Lt. Kelso was a hero. His actions in that lab saved us, as well as the lives of millions of Kelownans."

"And, after saving all their butts, the Kelownans are now smearing him," Sheppard said angrily. "They're saying that he deliberately sabotaged the test! They were gonna arrest us--we had to shoot our way out of there."

"We'll have a proper briefing after you've all been cleared by Dr. Fraiser and her team," Hammond promised them.

Once they exited the gate room, they encountered Dr. Carson Beckett, who led a team of hazmat-suited doctors down the hall. Several of them carried special equipment.

"Carson, pay special attention to Dr. Weir and Major Sheppard," Fraiser told him. "They may have been exposed directly to radiation."

Carson nodded as he led his team into the gate room. "Aye, Doctor."

Fraiser left to get the infirmary ready while Hammond entered the control room and watched as Beckett and his team carefully waved Geiger counters over the members of SG-9.

When he saw Weir and several others began to carefully undress under the supervison of the doctors, Hammond turned to Walter and said, "How about we give them some privacy?"

"Yes sir," Walter nodded, as he pushed a button. "Blast shield closing, sir."

Hammond waited in the control room for several tense minutes, until he saw members of SG-9, now clad in hospital scrubs, being led past the side door. Dr. Beckett, seeing Hammond, paused by the doorway.

Hammond walked over to him. "How are they, Doctor?"

"Very lucky," Beckett replied, as he removed his full-head hazmat gear. "There was very minimal radiation on the clothing of both Major Sheppard and Dr. Weir, but nothing that's cause for alarm. Their clothing has been bagged and sealed and will be properly disposed of. Lt. Elman and Sgt. Brock are completely clean. Still, they'll all be washed down in the infirmary and checked again, just to make sure."

"Thank you, Doctor."

Hammond went back to his office and sat down at his desk, where he stared, depressed, at the unfinished paperwork that lay there. He would now have the grim task of informing Lt. Kelso's family of his demise. And, to make it even worse, it looked as if the family wouldn't even have a body to bury.

When he saw Sheppard, along with Brock and Elman, all walk into the conference room through the window of his office, Hammond got up and took his usual seat at the head of the table. "Doctor Fraiser give you all a clean bill of health?"

Sheppard nodded as he stood at attention along with Brock and Elman. "Yes sir. Um, Dr. Weir will be along soon…she said she needed to stop by her quarters for something."

"Then she can join us when she can," Hammond said, as he gestured for them to sit. When they did, Hammond listened as Sheppard relayed what had happened. The Kelownans were running some sort of test on a device that used a special compound called Naquadria. Apparently, Kelowna had a rich abundance of Naquadria, an unstable element that they were trying to use in a bomb.

"Kelowna is much like earth in the 1940s, technology-wise," Sheppard said. "But, geo-politically speaking, they're actually more like the Cold War, where three main powers are vying for dominance over the planet. As hard as Dr. Weir tried to dissuade them from building a doomsday bomb--which was basically what they were doing--they wouldn't listen to reason, and went right ahead with their damn test!"

"And the test went wrong?" Hammond prodded.

"The test went cockeyed, sir," Sheppard said with disgust. "Right away, the lab workers all collapsed, and this guy--the special advisor to the High Minister--tried to hustle us out of there, saying that it wasn't safe. Elizabeth--um…I mean…Dr. Weir and I started to leave, until Lt. Kelso starts shooting the glass out of the observation room window, then he jumps into the lab and switched off the device by hand. _He_ collapses, and before I could go in after him, these lead doors slide down over all the windows, blocking all access to the lab."

"At what point did the Kelownans blame you for this?" Hammond asked.

"Later, when we were trying to get back in to save Lt. Kelso," Lt. Elman spoke up. "The High Minister suddenly began to accuse us of sabotaging the test--saying that we sent Lt. Kelso in there just to muck things up! They actually believed that Gary would commit suicide just to do something like that!"

She burst into tears again. "I-I'm sorry, sir…."

"Never apologize for your grief, Lieutenant," Hammond said softly. "It's perfectly understandable."

"That was when the High Minister ordered us all to be arrested," Sheppard said.

"And what did you do, Major?"

"We got the hell out of Dodge, sir," Sheppard grimly replied. "We had to shoot our way to the gate, but at least we were armed with the zats."

They grew silent for a moment as Hammond pondered the situation. Lt. Kelso was the science officer of SG-9, and he must have seen just how dangerous the situation in the lab was. But nobody could have foreseen just how bad this whole mission would turn out--except possibly for Sheppard. Hammond recalled how, just before SG-9 left for Kelowna, that Dr. Weir argued that they should leave their weapons behind as a show of good faith. Major Sheppard had sternly argued against that idea, saying that they should at least take their zat guns. Hammond had sided with him, and SG-9 went to Kelowna armed with zat guns, which may have very well saved their lives.

Yet before Hammond could even assure them that there was really nothing they could do in this untenable situation, he was interrupted by another blare of the alert klaxon.

"Off world activation," Walter's voice called over the intercom. "General Hammond, please report to the gate room."

"What now?" Hammond wondered, as he got up from the table. Sheppard and the rest of SG-9 also stood when he did. Hammond glanced at them and said, "We'll continue this briefing another time. Right now, all of you get some rest. You need it."

When Hammond reported to the control room, he was surprised to see the stargate was open and operational. "Who opened the iris?"

"Dr. Weir, sir," Walter said, gesturing at the gate room. She stood waiting before the gate. "She says she knows the gentleman who's coming through. He's from Kelowna."

Hammond saw a man emerge from the glowing wormhole within the gate, only to stagger a few steps in pain, until he collapsed onto the ramp. "Call Fraiser with a med team to the gate room," he ordered Walter. "Right away!"

When he entered the gate room, Hammond saw Weir was bent down on the ramp, holding the wounded man in her arms. The gate had been shut down, and the iris closed. The man held a black box in his arm.

"What happened?" he asked Weir.

"He's been shot," she said frantically. "They shot him while he escaped through the gate…."

"Dr. Fraiser is coming," Hammond assured her. The man had short brown hair and wore a burgundy vest over a gray outfit.

"I-I got it," the young man told Weir, as he held up the box. "I-I got the Naquadria…."

"It's ok," Weir gently told him. "It's all right. You're safe, now."

Fraiser entered with Beckett and a team bearing a stretcher. "What do we have?" she asked.

"He's been shot while going through the gate," Hammond told her.

"In the back," Weir added, as she held up a hand, which was covered with blood.

Fraiser quickly checked the man's vitals, then asked, "What's your name, sir? Can you tell me your name?"

"Jonas," the man replied in a whisper. "M-My name is Jonas Quinn."

"And how are you feeling, Jonas?"

"Oh, I've been better," he deadpanned.

**SG-1: SVU**

Qetesh awoke from a fitful sleep in her bedchambers. She glanced up and saw a figure stood over her bed. "Ba'al?" she asked, pleasantly surprised. He had sequestered himself in his lab for so many weeks now, that she had almost forgotten what he looked like. "It's about time you got out of that damn--"

Qetesh stopped speaking when the figure moved into the dim light, and she saw, with growing horror, that it wasn't her lover Ba'al.

It was Her Lord Empress Neith. Dressed in her finest, flowing robes and gleaming armor, Neith's eyes were aglow with a fury that was frightening to behold.

"Infidel!" Neith snarled, as she raised a staff up in the air with both hands. "You dare to call yourself Lord Empress; you dare to seize control of _my_ empire!"

A sharp, thin blade sprang out from the end of the staff, and Neith thrust it straight down into Qetesh's chest. Qetesh let out a horrified scream of pain as she clutched her chest--

--which was unharmed.

She sat up in the bed, breathing heavily, still in the icy grip of fear. The lights came on, and Mar'ek--her First Prime--entered the room with two more Jaffa. "My Lord Empress?" he asked, concerned. "Are you well? We heard you shout out…."

'I'm alive, I'm all right,' Qetesh thought, as she examined her chest, which had not been stabbed. She glanced around her bedchamber. "Where is she?"

"Where is who, My Lord Empress?"

"Neith!" Qetesh cried, as she flung the blankets away and got out of bed. When Mar'ek and the other Jaffa averted their collective gaze to the floor, Qetesh realized that she was still nude. She had made a habit of going to bed sans any clothing, should Ba'al finally grow weary of playing with his toys in his lab and join her in bed--he would find Qetesh ready and willing to receive him.

"I-I do not understand," Mar'ek said, still staring at the floor. "Neith is dead. _You_ are the Lord Empress of the Netian Empire…My Lord Empress."

"Search these quarters!" Qetesh commanded, as she threw on a robe. "If there is someone here, someone who dares to impersonate Neith, then I'll make her regret the day she was born!"

Qetesh impatiently paced back and forth in the main room of the private quarters that she shared with Ba'al while the Jaffa searched all over. Yet it began to look as if what she had seen was truly a dream…a very bad dream.

She paused in her pacing to stare out the massibe windows, which had a commanding view of Mount Tanis. Most of the damage caused to the city from their recent skirmish with SG-1 had been repaired. All except for the giant crater in the ground, where the vault once stood--it was destroyed by a matter/antimatter explosion, which was something else for which they had SG-1 to thank.

Qetesh wanted nothing more than to go to earth and crush SG-1 underfoot with the full might of the Netian Empire. Yet, as long as that bastard Yu continued to be a thorn in their side, diverting much-needed troops to a never-ending hit and run campaign, then bringing the insolent Tauri under their heel would have to wait.

"My Lord Empress," Mar'ek reported with a bow. "Your quarters are secure. There is no sign of an intruder. If you wish, I can inform His Lord Emperor Ba'al about--"

"Never mind," Qetesh said curtly. "I'll tell him myself."

Still clad only in her flimsy robe, Qetesh strode out of her private quarters and into the main halls of the royal palace. Jaffa and breaucrats all snapped to attention when she stormed by. Once she reached the main doors of the lab, the pair of Jaffa who stood guard began to automatically stop her--until Qetesh put her arms on her hips and glared at them.

They smartly thought the better of it and allowed her access, bowing respectfully to her as she walked past them.

She found Anubis, still frozen in his suspended animation chamber, in the center of the lab. Qetesh glared at the monstrosity, which had a human body, but with the head of a jackal. And that wasn't the worst of it! This…thing…just couldn't be killed. No matter what they threw at it, Anubis would not die--instead it kept coming back, over and over, like a relentless angel of death.

'This damn thing should have been dropped into the sun,' Qetesh thought. 'Instead, my husband and co-ruler has spent all of his waking hours for the past few weeks examining this vile creature….'

She turned away from Anubis to look for Ba'al--only to find him standing right there before her, smiling that rakish smile of his.

"My love," he said, surprised. "Are you not well?"

Qetesh thought about telling him about the dream, but she felt stupid, like a little girl who got scared of the imaginary monsters in her bedroom. "I had a bad dream," she said. "But it was nothing; just a mere dream, nothing more. The fact is, Ba'al, is that I have missed you terribly, and wish you would cease this infernal research of yours and come back to me."

Ba'al grinned broadly as he collected her in his arms. To have him holding her felt so good to Qetesh. "As luck would have it, my love, you couldn't have arrived at a better time. For I was just about to call for you." He gestured at the dormant Anubis. "My research on our invincible friend here has proved to be quite profitable."

With his arm over her shoulders, Ba'al escorted a confused Qetesh out of the lab and through a doorway. They emerged on a balcony that overlooked an enclosed courtyard that was filled with Jaffa.

But then Qetesh's eyes grew wide with horror when she saw that these men, who were dressed in the battle garb of the Jaffa, were in fact not Jaffa at all. They were not even human.

Every face that gazed up at them from the courtyard below was that of a jackal, and there were at least a thousand of them, if not more.

"The cloning process worked superbly," a prideful Ba'al said, as he gestured at the multitude of Anubis clones below. "Not only have they been bred to be completely loyal to us--to obey our every order--but these new troops are all just as invincible, just as unstoppable, as the original Anubis."

Qetesh was horrified at the very thought that, instead just one monstrosity like Anubis, Ba'al was now about to unleash an entire army that was just like him.

"With this army of Immortals," Ba'al said, loud enough for the Anubis troops to hear, "we shall rule the universe!"

All of the troops then raised their jackal faces to the ceiling and let out a soul-chilling howl in unision.

And as she watched her new, unnatural army let out its version of a battle cry, in spite of the chills she felt, Qetesh smiled.

'Finally,' she thought with a satisfied nod. 'We shall be able to crush SG-1, and the rest of the Tauri, just like the vermin they truly are!'

**To Be Continued....**


	3. Chapter 3

_My thanks to Ray1 for his comments on Chapter Two._

**Stargate: SVU 3**

**Chapter Three**

"Are you all right?" Char'el asked. He had already pulled up his hood to hide the Jaffa tattoo on his forehead.

"I'm fine," Casey replied, as she pulled her own cloak tightly closed against the cold. She had to admit that it was a shock to the system to be going from wearing nothing but shorts and a t-shirt aboard the nice warm Hak'tyl to traversing a snow-covered landscape in what felt like zero degree weather in less than an hour's time. "You sure the market's open? Who'd want to go shopping in freezing temperatures like this?"

Char'el pointed. "Them."

"Oh," Casey said, as she saw for the first time the long line of people ahead of them who made their way towards the town of Martel. As she and Char'el joined the crowd, Casey made an irritated sound as she once more tried to fix her cloak so that it fit snugly against her chest. But there was something protruding through the fabric that prevented this.

When Casey lifted the material, she saw a round metallic object the size of a button had been attached to the inside of her cloak. Casey's eyes grew wide when she saw that it had a pair of small green lights that blinked on and off every so often. "Char'el, what the hell is this?"

"A tracking device," he told her. "I have one as well. It was Io'tan's idea. She wanted to make sure she did not lose us should something go wrong."

'Would have been nice if she told us about it, first,' Casey thought, as she stared balefully at the blinking device. "It's not radioactive, or anything, is it?"

"It is safe, my love," Char'el told her with affection. "Now, hide it, quickly--lest we attract some unwanted attention."

Casey saw that they were now coming up on the guard post. Martel was surrounded by a vast stone wall which protected the town, and this was one of the heavily guarded entranceways through the wall. She quickly tucked the tracking device back into the folds of her cloak. The Martel guards whom they walked past were all clad in thick clothing and heavy armor; their weapons consisted of broadswords and crude metal shields. Casey, thinking back to her days as a captured slave on Mount Tanis, became nervous as she walked under their watchful eyes.

Yet there was nothing to fear; Casey and Char'el strode right past the guards without incident along with the rest of the shoppers.

The town of Martel reminded Casey of a quaint English village that she'd once visited as a college student. The wood and stone buildings were three stories tall, at most, and were all huddled together along the cobblestone streets. The bottom floors of the buildings were home to various shops that sold food and other commodities. When Casey saw an exquisite shop on a corner with ornate windows that displayed books and scrolls, she almost felt like she was going to bump into Harry Potter and his friends at any moment.

However, the picturesque charms of the town were vastly overwhelmed by the sight of the pyramid-shaped Ha'tak vessel, which had landed in a nearby field some distance away--yet its monstrous size still made it seem very imposing. And there were two more of these monsters directly above them in orbit.

'What could they possibly want here?' Casey wondered, as she gazed up at the massive vessel. 'Whatever it is, it must be something pretty special for them to arrive with such overpowering force.'

She glanced inside the book store, it was presently empty of customers. An elderly man and a young boy were behind the counter. 'Looks like this is as good a place as any to try and get some information,' she thought.

"Want to try this store?" she asked Char'el. "You know, to ask about the 800 pound gorilla that's sitting in the field out there?"

He nodded, and Casey couldn't help but note how the tall Jaffa looked like a monk with his hood drawn over his face. "You go inside," he said. "I shall wait out here. Casey, do you have money? Some coinage may be needed to loosen tongues."

She nodded as she patted a coin bag on her belt. "Io'tan doesn't miss a trick, does she?"

When she entered the store, the old man peered at her with a look of suspicion, and Casey realized just then that this might not be the best place to seek information after all. Still, she bravely strode over to the counter and gave him her best smile. "Hello."

"Morning," he said evenly. "What can I do you for?"

"Just taking a look," Casey said, as she made an effort to glance at the books and scrolls on the shelves. She didn't want to appear to be too obvious. "Say, have you gotten anything new recently?"

"We have the latest Gils Sharma story," he said. He gestured to the boy and added, "Get it for the lady, Jorvi."

'Gils Sharma?!' Casey thought with a slight frown. She waited as the boy, a strapping young lad of twelve, returned with a scroll that he unrolled for her inspection. 'Who's that supposed to be?'

Casey's eyes grew wide when she realized the text was written in what appeared to be a form of Old English--which, for her was practically unreadable. 'Where's Daniel Jackson when you need him?' she wondered, sincerely curious to see what this story was about. 'But, then again, this isn't what I'm here for.'

"Thanks," she said with another smile. "But I'm not interested."

"It's very good," Jorvi spoke up enthusiastically. "Gils battles the evil Marok and his legion of serpent warriors!"

Casey was about to turn him down--until she remembered Char'el's comment about how some coinage might loosen tongues. "Very well. How much?"

"One sovereign," the old man said. And this time, he smiled back at Casey.

'Is it any wonder he's finally so cheerful?' Casey thought, as she placed a coin on the countertop. 'He's made a sale today.'

As the old man accepted her payment, Jorvi wrapped the scroll up in parchment paper for Casey.

"Thanks," she said, as she accepted the wrapped scroll from him. Casey made a pretense of leaving--until she stopped and turned back towards them. "Oh, one more thing: I couldn't help but notice the Ha'tak that landed out in the field. Do you know anything about that? Like why are they here?"

The old man made a dismissive gesture. "Come for their dark package, they have! And they are welcome to it, as long as they take it and leave us in peace forever!"

"Dark package?" Casey asked. "What do you mean?"

"Mr. Corvis saw them bury it," Jorvi helpfully added. "Many years ago, when he was a boy--right, Mr. Corvis? He said he even saw Her Lord Empress Neith herself! She supervised them when they buried the dark package. Mr. Corvis knows all of this because he used to sneak into the underground passageway down by the--"

"BOY!" the old man roared. "You have a delivery to make, do you not?"

"Yes," Jorvi said, taken aback by his abrupt anger. "I-I'm sorry sir!" He turned to Casey and nodded in a respectful manner. "Excuse me, Ma'am."

Jorvi grabbed a bundle of scrolls and raced out the front door. Casey took one look at the old man and knew, just from his hardened expression, that she would not get anything else out of him.

"Thank you for your time," she curtly said, as she left the shop.

When she hit the street, Casey looked around for Jorvi, but could not see him. "Damn it!"

Char'el approached her with a look of concern. "What is wrong?"

"Did you see where the kid went?" she frantically asked. "The boy who just left the store, where did he go?"

Char'el pointed to their left. "That way."

"C'mon," Casey said, as she raced after him down the cobblestone street. "Jorvi!"

The boy stopped and glanced back at her with a look of surprise. "Yes, Ma'am?"

"You mentioned something in the store, about an underground passageway?" Casey asked. "Can you tell me where this is?"

Jorvi looked uncertain. "I-I really should not speak of this, Ma'am. Mr. Corvis would be very angry with me if I did."

"Mr. Corvis does not have to know," Casey told him, as she held out another sovereign coin. "Just like he does not have to know about this, which I'm giving to you as payment for telling me where the passageway is."

Jorvi looked tempted, but he shook his head. "We are told by the elders to stay away from that area. Because it is an evil place, where the dark package is buried. Nothing grows there. I should not even speak of it."

"Dark package?" Char'el asked in puzzlement.

"Neith buried something here, years ago--something that they refer to here as a dark package," Casey told him. "That's apparently what that Ha'tak out there is getting right now. Have you ever heard anything about this?"

Char'el shook his head. "No, nothing."

"There's an underground passageway leading to where it's buried," Casey said.

"But the passageway is dangerous!" Jorvis said. "It will take you right under where the Ha'tak is! You don't want to go there!"

'Believe me, kid, I really don't _want_ to go,' Casey grimly thought. Taking a deep breath, she leaned over until they were face to face and said, "I really appreciate your concern, Jorvis. But it's very important that we check this out. My friend and I can take care of ourselves, believe me."

Jorvis still looked uneasy, but he nodded his head. "Very well, I shall tell you."

His directions were simple, and right to the point, using ample natural landmarks that Char'el already knew. "We can use the woods to the north as cover until we reach the ditch," he told Casey. "The ditch should lead us straight to the entrance of the passageway."

Casey was impressed. "When did you have time to scout all of this out?"

"When I was landing the Teltac, I made a quick scan of the area," he replied. "I figured that getting the lay of the land might come in handy, should we need to get closer to the Ha'tak."

"Good thinking," she said, smiling. Casey then gave Jorvis the coin. "Thank you very much Jorvis. And please, don't tell Mr. Corvis where we've gone, understand?"

Jorvis nodded with a smile. "I do, Ma'am. You know, in a way, you are much like a female Gils Sharma, leading your own battle against the forces of darkness! I wish you both much luck in your valiant efforts!"

"Gils Sharma," Char'el said with distain, as they watched the boy run off to complete his deliveries. "Hmmph!"

Casey held up the scroll. "I had to buy a copy of his latest story to get them to open up to me in the store. You've heard of him?"

"Yes, unfortunately," Char'el said, as they turned and walked up the street. "The Gils Sharma stories are very poorly written; filled with clichés and are very predictable."

"Everybody's a critic," Casey muttered, smiling, as she pulled her hood up over her head against the cold.

**SG-1: SVU**

O'Neill's mind was weighted down with dark thoughts as he strode back into the temple with Daniel. King Murtas, the rotund leader of the Mumani, walked by his side, fanning himself with a large palm leaf. A group of Mumani warriors loyal to Murtas followed them. O'Neill and Daniel had just been to the main village of the Mumani to inform Murtas of the plot that Thoran and his group of Mumani warriors had tried to set in motion. O'Neill was surprised by King Murtas' reaction to this news, which was to merely shake his head and casually say--as translated through Daniel: "This is most unfortunate."

King Murtas' whole manner was just as calm as his choice of words, and his off-the-cuff reaction made O'Neill wonder if the King had suspected Thoran would do something like this all along. But then an even darker thought had occurred to O'Neill; that the leader of the Mumani had known of the secret chamber all along, and had ordered Thoran to abduct Grace Satterfield in order to have her decipher its secrets for the Mumani. The King might be acting all calm and casual now in an attempt to throw off suspicion from himself.

Still, even if Murtas was the mastermind behind the abduction of Grace and Olivia, there was really no way O'Neill could prove such a thing--and even if he could, what then? Declare war on the Mumani? Although it would be a one-sided battle, which would easily be won by SG-1, it was still a confrontation that O'Neill had no desire to fight for the simple fact that it would be a mass slaughter. Murtas seemed to have no problem with SG-1 looking over the chamber for their own purposes, and as long as the status quo remained that way, O'Neill was willing to ignore his suspicions.

Yet this wasn't the only thing that burdened O'Neill. He had checked back with the SGC through the MALP at the gate and, during his routine check-in with Hammond, O'Neill discovered that SG-9 had just lost Lt. Gary Kelso on a mission.

That hit O'Neill hard. For although he only vaguely knew Gary Kelso through a few meetings, both social and business--the fact that Kelso had been SG-9's science officer had really cut close to the bone for O'Neill, who constantly fretted over Sam. He always tried to keep his concern for her hidden, but O'Neill suspected that Sam knew anyway; she was just so darn smart, it was often hard to hide things--such as his deepest feelings--from her.

When they entered the temple, O'Neill was pleased to see that Thoran and his boys had all woken up. They remained right where O'Neill, Teal'c and Olivia had left them: all tied up in the corner of the temple. Olivia and Teal'c kept watch over them with their zats. And having been a bound captive of Thoran and his gang earlier, Olivia now looked very pleased that the situation had been reversed.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," she shouted at the captured Mumani warriors, who all unhappily spoke at once at her. "Shut your yaps!"

O'Neill immediately scanned the temple, and saw that everything was as it should be: Grace Satterfield poured over some ancient text that had been scribbled on the walls; while Hailey and Sam were busy trying to figure out what made the floating head float. He smiled slightly at the sight of Sam and the petite Jennifer sloshing around in the water of the fountain that the head floated over. The sight reminded him of a pair of kids playing in the fountain at a park.

O'Neill's attention was directed to the excited babbling that had erupted between King Murtas and the bound Thoran. Daniel leaned in behind him and translated as much of the heated conversation as he could. And it was clear that King Murtas was putting on quite a show at berating Thoran for his bad behavior.

"'I did everything you wanted,'" Daniel translated Thoran as saying. "'But it is _you_ who has--'"

Then Murtas gestured to one of his loyal warriors and said something, cutting Thoran off. Whatever he said, it made Satterfield glance over from her own translating with a look of shocked disbelief. Even Daniel looked up anxiously and said, "Oh, hey…wait a minute!"

Yet before O'Neill could even ask Daniel what Murtas said, it happened. One of the warriors loyal to Murtas strode over to the bound and helpless Thoran and swiftly bashed his skull in with the backswing of a lethal looking club.

Olivia let out a shocked gasp as she quickly stepped away from the grisly blood spatter that hit the floor just in front of her bare feet. Teal'c pulled her close to his side in a protective manner as he warily watched what Murtas and his warriors would do next. O'Neill's hand discreetly slid down to the trigger of his P90 machine gun, which hung in front of him, as he also watched for what Murtas' next move would be.

King Murtas then smiled broadly at O'Neill as he gestured at the now dead Thoran. Sam and Jennifer stopped working in the water, and they both stared over at the scene with horror, while Satterfield also looked grossed out. Then, with a grand gesture, Murtas gestured for his warriors to take the prisoners and move out.

"My God," Daniel muttered softly at Murtas. "You didn't have to do that…."

"Yes, he did," O'Neill coldly replied, as he watched King Murtas' men round up the rebels and lead them out of the temple. Two men picked up Thoran's still-bound body and hauled it away like so much garbage. King Murtas was at the lead of the grim procession, striding along with his head held high and with an air of self-importance.

Daniel, enraged at the brutal killing that he had just witnessed, turned his anger on O'Neill. "Why, Jack? What possible reason could Murtas have had to do that?!"

"Discipline," Teal'c called, as he and Olivia came over to them.

"You mean by killing Thoran in such a manner, the other warriors will now be more careful about disobeying Murtas in the future?" Olivia asked.

Teal'c nodded. "Indeed."

"There's also another reason," O'Neill said. "It's always best to kill your co-conspirator before he has a chance to talk, before he can implicate you."

"You think Murtas was involved in this?" Sam said, as she and Hailey came over to them. "With the kidnappings?"

"I have no proof, but I still have my suspicions," O'Neill told the group. "Just before he was killed, Thoran started telling Murtas that he did everything that Murtas wanted."

"Wait," Daniel said, shaking his head. "We never heard the rest of what Thoran was about to say."

"Because Murtas killed him before he could do so," O'Neill replied.

"Or perhaps Murtas simply didn't want to waste time listening to the words of a traitor," Daniel countered. "You can't just assume there's a conspiracy here, Jack."

"We will never really know, will we, Daniel?" O'Neill grimly said. "Thanks to Murtas."

Teal'c grew pensive. "Do you believe that the Mumani overall have now become a threat, O'Neill?"

"No, I don't think so," O'Neill replied. "If this _was_ a plot hatched by Murtas, I believe that by having Thoran killed like he just did insured that the peace is kept between us. If Murtas was smart enough to silence Thoran when he did, then that means he's no idiot. He sees the kind of firepower that we have, and he won't mess with us."

"Assuming Thoran was actually working for Murtas," Daniel added.

"In which case, this is all blue sky talk, anyway," O'Neill said, with a wave of his hand. "One other thing: we also managed to check in with Hammond, and there's some bad news. SG-9 had a hard time of it on their last mission. They lost Gary Kelso."

Everyone was stunned and saddened at the news--especially Hailey, who appeared to know Kelso better than O'Neill did. "Sir, did the general say how he died?" she asked, distraught. "Was Gary killed in action?"

"He was killed on the mission," O'Neill gently told her. "Hammond said that, in the process, Lt. Kelso gave his life to save about a billion people on the planet they were on. We'll know more details when we get back."

Hailey just nodded, as she stared at the floor, still looking shocked.

"Did you know Lt. Kelso very well, Lieutenant?" O'Neill asked.

"Not as much as I should have," she replied morosely. "I worked with him on some science projects, and we traded notes. He asked me to go to dinner with him once--but it was at a sports bar, so I turned him down." She shook her head sadly. "Should have went with him, I guess…."

"Why don't you take five, Lieutenant?" Sam said sympathetically.

"But we…um…we discovered the power source for the floating head," Hailey reported to O'Neill, as she tried to put up a brave face. "At least, we _think_ it's the power source. I'd like to get back to it, if you don't mind, sir."

"Very well, Lt. Hailey," O'Neill said with a nod. "Carry on."

Hailey nodded, then went back to work in the fountain with a forced zest that told O'Neill that she just was working through her pain. Every now and then, she would wipe a tear from her eyes.

"Excuse me," Satterfield said, as she walked over to the fountain. She paused to roll her pants legs up before she stepped into the water.

O'Neill watched as Satterfield stood beside Hailey, who was hunched down in the water, presumably working whatever task was at hand--yet Hailey had abruptly stopped to cover her eyes with her hand. It was at that moment that Satterfield bent down and placed her arm over Hailey's shoulders.

"I feel awful," Olivia said, as she watched Satterfield comfort her friend. "I hardly knew the guy."

"Yeah, same here," Daniel replied. "Gary Kelso was a new recruit to the SGC. I met him once through a briefing that I gave for SG-9. He seemed like a really bright, really decent person."

'Just like somebody else I know,' O'Neill thought, as he glanced meaningfully at Sam. "Carter, I need to speak with you in private for a second. Outside."

She looked momentarily taken aback. "Should I get dressed, sir? Put on my boots, at least?"

"No, you're fine," he assured her, as they walked through the doorway. "This won't take long."

They emerged into the clearing that surrounded the temple. O'Neill quickly looked around, just for safety's sake, and was satisfied that they were truly alone.

For her part, Sam looked oddly uncomfortable as she stood waiting for what he was about to say. Barefoot, she was clad in a tank top, with her pant legs rolled up in the capri style from working in the water with Hailey. Her short blond hair was all spiky and slick. And yet to O'Neill, she looked beautiful.

"Sir, is there something wrong?" she uneasily asked.

He thought about Gary Kelso, a science officer who unselfishly gave his life to save others, and realized that Sam would have done the same exact thing. Yet the mental image of her lying dead was just too painful for him to deal with. And so, instead of words, O'Neill responded by giving her a tight hug.

"Oh, sir," Sam said, surprised, as she tentatively embraced him. "Uh, not that I don't appreciate this, but we're breaking a major rule here…."

"I know," O'Neill replied, as he held her tightly. "And I don't care. We're alone, anyway."

"Jack, what's wrong?" she asked gently. "Is it Kelso?"

"Yeah," he admitted, as they broke their embrace. "It's actually pretty silly. But SG-9 just lost their science officer, and…well, you know…."

"I'm right here, Jack," Sam quietly assured him. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I know," he replied softly. "I guess I just needed the reassurance…Major."

She gave him a knowing smile. "My pleasure…Colonel."

"Let's go look at this power source that you and Hailey found, shall we?"

When they reentered the temple, O'Neill was pleased to see that Lt. Hailey had put aside her grief for now. She stood in the water with Satterfield by her side, explaining to everybody about the power source of the floating head. Olivia and Daniel sat on the edge of the low stone wall that surrounded the fountain and kept the water in, while Teal'c stood near by.

O'Neill almost felt envy at how Daniel playfully rubbed Olivia's hand in his own as they listened to Hailey. A part of O'Neill found himself wishing he could openly show affection for Sam like that, yet he quickly tossed aside that thought and stayed focused.

"We thought the tractor beam was coming out of the water, pushing the head up," Hailey explained. "But, as you can see, the water directly under the head shows no effect of being interfered with by the type of energy field that would be created by a tractor beam."

A thought just occurred to O'Neill at that point. "Hey, why do they call them tractor beams, anyway? I mean, you never see any tractors involved, right?"

Hailey just stared at him, her mouth hanging open in dumbfounded shock. Sam just rolled her eyes.

"Uh, they use that term in Star Trek a lot, don't they, Jack?" Daniel asked.

"I know, but they never explain it there, either!" he said with frustration.

"Getting back to the point at hand--if I may, sir," Sam said, as she gestured at the ceiling. "See that opening up there?"

O'Neill glanced up and saw a perfectly square hole in the ceiling where a tile should be. "Yeah?"

"That's where the tractor beam is being emitted--and no," Sam quickly added, before O'Neill could even ask. "I don't know why they call it that, either, sir! But the point is, once Hailey and I realized that the tractor beam emitters weren't in the fountain, that caused us to expand our search and we found this."

Sam tapped the corner of a stone tile in the floor, and it swung open, revealing what looked to O'Neill like an alien circuit box. There were three circular objects that were buried, or plugged into the box. Out of the three, only one glowed brightly, and it looked to be made out of some sort of yellowish/orange crystal.

"Cool," O'Neill said with a nod. "Wanna unplug it and see what happens?"

Olivia and Daniel nervously glanced at the floating head as they abruptly got up from their seat on the fountain's edge. "Um, won't that send this really big head crashing to the floor, Jack?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah…maybe," O'Neill replied. "So?"

"And you don't think that's a bad thing?" Olivia asked.

"As much as we may want to, we can't stay here forever, kids," O'Neill reminded the group. "If there's anything worthwhile to be found here, we've got to find it soon."

"Oh, yeah, 'cause, God knows, this place has been just a barrel of laughs for us so far," Olivia muttered sarcastically. "Right, Grace?"

Satterfield smiled broadly as she held her arms up, cheerfully revealing the ligature marks on her wrists. "And I've got the mementoes to prove it!"

Sam stared critically down at the circuit box in the floor. "I'd feel better if we checked this out a little further before we start playing with it, sir."

"Do so, Major. Daniel, Satterfield, anything worthwhile to report from the writings on the walls?"

"Well, we didn't get the whole thing finished, yet," Daniel replied. "But so far, it's just a list of contents, basically. It talks continuously about the 'Great Mind Of Knowledge' and how it contains all of the secrets of the universe, apparently."

"And just where is this 'Great Mind Of Knowledge'?" O'Neill asked.

Daniel shrugged. "Got me."

"Great, this probably means another treasure hunt," O'Neill said dejectedly.

"Actually, Daniel," Satterfield spoke up, "there's a passage over here which I've been meaning to ask you about. I wonder if you could look at it for me and double-check my translation? I think it talks about Plato."

"Plato?" Daniel said with astonishment. "One of the great Greek philosophers being mentioned in a temple several thousand light years from earth?! Oh, please, show me _this_!"

O'Neill saw that Sam and Hailey knelt over the circuit box in the floor, taking readings with the various electronic gizmos that they carried. Daniel and Satterfield looked over the writings on a portion of the wall that she had pointed out for him. Meanwhile, Olivia stood with Teal'c by the fountain's edge as they stared up at the floating head. Olivia's dark brown hair was tucked up into her cap, with a pony tail sticking out the back.

When O'Neill walked over to them, he gestured at her cap and asked, "Bad hair day?"

"In this heat and humidity, everyday is a bad hair day!" Olivia replied with a grin. She glanced back up at the floating stone head with an expression of wonder. "Who do you think he was?"

O'Neill stared at the smooth stone face--whose features were both lean and supple--and noted that if it had eyes, they were long washed away by the water that sprayed on it from the sides of the fountain. "No idea, Liv. Probably some grand poobah of a long lost civilization."

"It could have very well been a woman," Teal'c suggested.

"You'd think the writings on the walls here would at least mention something about this great big honking head," O'Neill said, annoyed.

Olivia's eyes suddenly became very wide. "Oh, Christ, Jack--maybe they do…."

O'Neill frowned at her. "What do you mean?"

"Daniel said that this 'Great Mind Of Knowledge' contains everything that's written on these walls, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

Olivia grabbed his arm. "Where's the mind located, Jack? I mean normally."

"Within the skull," Teal'c replied.

"What's another name for the skull?" Olivia asked, as she gestured at the floating stone head before them. "The head, right? Might _this_ thing be the 'Great Mind Of Knowledge', floating right here in front of us all along?"

"Holy Hannah, Liv!" Sam shouted excitedly, as she and Hailey stood up from their examination of the circuit box. "That makes perfect sense! After all, what else is the mind but a filing cabinet of information for the body? And, in that sense, that's what this floating head could be, a literal filing cabinet!"

But O'Neill still wasn't convinced. "If all the secrets of the universe are in that head, then why isn't it better protected? You know, with traps, and that sort of stuff?"

"Probably all shut down," Sam said. "You saw the circuit board, sir. Only one out of the three crystals still has juice. This place isn't operating at anywhere near it's original power capacity! The last remaining bit of power is being used just to keep the head floating."

"The levitation of the head may well be a last defensive measure," Teal'c chimed in. "A final safeguard to keep the head, and the knowledge that it contains, out of the reach of intruders, should all other protective devices fail."

"Who knows what this place would have been like had it still been fully powered?" Hailey posited. "Getting in here while it was fully charged might have been as impossible as breaking into Fort Knox!"

Before O'Neill could reply, he heard Daniel loudly say, "Oboy!"

He glanced over and saw his friend and chief archeologist suddenly back away in shock from the writing on the wall that he had been reading. Daniel held his hands over his head and once again said, "Oboy!"

"You see what I mean?" Satterfield asked Daniel. "I thought it was just a mistake on my part in the translation."

"Oh, no," Daniel said, as he shook his head. "You got it right. It means what we think it is, and _that_ means….oh, boy! Oh, _wow_…."

O'Neill turned to Olivia and angrily said, "See, this drives me nuts! Whenever your boyfriend starts in like this after finding out something on a mission, it's usually followed by a lot of screaming, explosions and all-around mayhem. Which is _not_ fun!"

"Oh, boy," Daniel continued to mutter, as he stared at the wall of writing with a dazed look. "Oh, whoa…."

"For crying out loud," O'Neill muttered with disgust. "Daniel…_what_?! Huh? What is it, now?!"

Daniel turned to them and took a deep breath. "Ok, um…as some of you might know, Plato was a legendary Greek philosopher who--"

"Daniel!" a furious O'Neill said, cutting him off. "Bottom line it for us, _please_!"

"Very well." Daniel pointed at the wall of writings that caused him so much agitation. "According to this, the 'Great Mind Of Knowledge' also contains the location of the treasures of the lost city of Atlantis."

"Atlantis?" O'Neill said, flabbergasted.

"Not the casino, sir," Satterfield replied. "But the real deal. The legendary sunken city of myth."

"Uh, yeah…yep," Daniel said with a nod. "What she said."

O'Neill shared a shocked look with Olivia and Teal'c, before he glanced back at an equally dazed Hailey and Sam.

"So what are we waiting for, Carter?" he asked with a grin. "Let's get that big, honking head down from there!"

**SG-1: SVU**

They stopped off at the Teltac so Char'el could get his staff weapon, and Casey could arm herself with a Zat, in addition to her knife. They also got flashlights for the passageway, and sent a message back to Io'tan, detailing everything that had learned so far. When they set out through the woods, it had started snowing, and Casey almost wished she could just watch the snowfall inside a cozy cabin, in front of a roaring fireplace, with a cup of hot chocolate at her side.

Instead she found herself trudging along in a forest filled with bare, slumbering trees as the snow continued to fall around her more heavily. Casey spent the time trying to figure out what this 'dark package' could be, and all she could think of was that--whatever it was--it couldn't be something good. She recalled such dangerous weapons as the Asgard Slayer, and wondered if this 'dark package' was anything like that.

'We'll know soon enough, I suppose,' Casey thought, as she glanced up at the Ha'tak ship, which loomed over them like a mountain.

They found the ditch that Char'el had seen, and Casey was pleased to see that it was deep enough for them to walk in while upright. It wasn't long before they found the entrance to the passageway. It had been covered over with thick bushes and other assorted foliage that had gone thin and brown thanks to the winter season.

Once they cleared everything away, they decended into the black passgeway, with Char'el taking the lead. The flashlights came in handy here, as the passageway was very narrow and dark, with room enough for them to stand upright comfortably, yet they could only move in single file.

They walked in silence for a time, and Casey warily noted that the light from the entranceway diminished the further they moved away from it.

The passageway walls were built of smooth tiled stone blocks with a dirt floor. At first she wondered if Neith had this constructed for easy access to the dark package--but then, that didn't make much sense. More likely, this was originally built by the native population, and then forgotten by all but some adventurous children over the long passage of time.

Char'el abruptly ceased walking and switched off his flashlight. Casey instinctively did the same. "You see anything?" she whispered.

"No, I hear something. Listen."

Casey stood in the pitch blackness, the hairs on the back of her neck rising as she heard what sounded like distant voices speaking. "Whatever it is," she whispered, "we're getting closer to it."

She felt Char'el's rough hand take her own. "Come. We continue without the lights."

'Oh, great,' Casey uneasily thought, as he led her through the total blackness by the hand. 'As if I'm not creeped out already!'

She continued walking in the pitch black behind Char'el until Casey now saw a dim light appear ahead of them.

Char'el led her to the end of the passageway, which emerged onto what looked like a terrace of some kind that ran around a large square room. The floor and balustrade were made of stone, and as they crept out towards the decorative stone railing, Casey could hear the conversation even louder.

She and Char'el knelt down in-between the stone spindles of the rialing, using them for cover, as they peered into the vast room below them.

A squad of Jaffa stood facing another group of figures dressed in black robes and hoods. Two figures, a Jaffa and a hooded man, stood out from their respective groups and faced each other. The Jaffa held what looked to Casey to be a gold box about the size of a small carry-on bag.

"Here it is, Lord Belial," the Jaffa said grandly. "What you have sought from this place. What you have ordered us to retrieve."

The hooded figure held out his hands, which were covered with black gloves, and bowed before the Jaffa. "My Lord Empress Neith," he intoned. "Your time is once more at hand."

'Neith?! She's back? Where?!' Casey thought, horrified. Yet as hard as she looked, Casey could not find Neith anywhere in the crowd below. 'But if Neith wasn't down there, then who the hell was this Belial fellow speaking to?'

Then Lord Belial accepted the box, and from the respectful way he held it, Casey realized that it was the _box_ to which he referred to as Neith. 'But she can't be inside that thing,' Casey thought, bewildered, 'that box isn't even big enough to hold a body! What the hell is going on here?!'

"What are your orders now, my Lord?" the Jaffa asked.

"We wait until the time is right," Belial responded. "But, until then, I wonder if you and your Jaffa would be good enough to capture the spies in our midst?"

'My God!' Casey thought with horror, as Belial pointed right up at them. With shouted orders, the Jaffa immediately flew into action.

"Casey, let's go!" Char'el said urgently, as they got up from the balastruade and began to run towards the passageway opening. They stopped short when several Jaffa blocked their way. Char'el shot them down with his staff weapon, but several more Jaffa emerged onto the terrace and returned a withering barrage of Zat gunfire.

"This way!" Casey cried, as she pointed out another passageway to the right of them. "Don't know where this goes, but--"

"At least it takes us away from here!" Char'el replied, as they ran into the darkened passgaeway. It was larger then the one they were in before; it's bigger size enabled them to run side by side.

As they ran for their lives, down a passageway where they had no idea would take them, Lord Belial's unnatural voice echoed after them as he casually called out after his Jaffa: "Kill the male, but spare me the woman! She is quite beautiful, and I shall rather enjoy devouring her later."

"Oh, good God!" Casey cried, terrified, as the icy fear that gripped her heart made her run in a blind panic into the dark unknown that lay ahead.

**To be continued....**


	4. Chapter 4

_I'd like to thank the redoubtable Ms. Robart for her wonderous remarks, as always._

**Stargate: SVU 3**

**Chapter Four**

Casey and Char'el ran down the long passageway in the darkness as fast as they could. They didn't dare turn on their flashlights, for fear that the lights would make them a better target for the pursuing Jaffa behind them. Every so often, the passageway would be lit up by gunfire from a staff weapon that was shot by their pursuers, yet Casey and Char'el were both running so fast that it was hard for the Jaffa behind them to make an accurate shot.

The passageway led out into a small, round chamber. Casey and Char'el took cover on one side of the doorway and fired their weapons down the passageway. Casey was now extremely grateful that Char'el had insisted that she'd learn to fire a Zat properly. Her extensive lessons with her lover had paid off: Casey managed to hit one of the Jaffa who came down the passageway at them. There was a surprised shout of pain as Char'el also scored a hit with his staff weapon. Casey saw another Jaffa fall, his chest still flaming from the staff weapon wound, and the others directly behind him tumbled over his body.

Casey frantically glanced around for another exit, and her eyes grew wide with horror when she could not find one. She was about to announce that they were trapped, until Casey noticed a massive bright light abruptly shine down from the ceiling above them. She recognized it instantly. "Char'el, this room is used for a ring transporter! And somebody's coming down!"

"Get to the center, quickly!" he shouted. Char'el shot three more blasts from his staff weapon down the passageway, to cover them as they both ran and stood directly in the center of the bright circle of light. As a pile of rings dropped evenly down around them, Char'el added, "Be prepared, Casey, for we may have to start shooting the moment we arrive."

Casey understood the tactic that Char'el had employed. They could ride up the ring transporter at the same time whoever was using it would come down. The problem was that they could very well arrive in a location where they would be surrounded by armed Jaffa.

As Casey braced herself by holding out her zat gun, she chuckled humorously. "You know, I forgot just how much I hate these things…."

"Your zat gun?" Char'el asked, as he also held out his staff weapon in readiness to shoot.

"No, the--"

That was the last thing she said just before her body was transformed into a brilliant beam of light and shot upwards past the ceiling.

"--ring transporter," Casey finished saying, once she had reformed with Char'el on another level.

"Oh, damn," Casey said, when she and Char'el found themselves surrounded by Jaffa.

Fortunately, the small group of Jaffa looked to be equally surprised to see them, which gave Casey and Char'el time to shoot them down. Casey just stood there, firing her zat, remembering her training as she knocked down one Jaffa after another--until Char'el pulled on her arm and led her away.

Casey's eyes grew wide as they ran down a gold encrusted corridor that reminded her of the Hak'tyl--this was when she realized that they were now aboard the enemy Ha'tak ship. "Where are we going?" she asked Char'el. "Shouldn't we be trying to get back down to the surface?"

"That is what we are trying to do," Char'el replied, as he led her by the hand through an intersection of corridors. "But we can not go back down the same ring transporter, or else we shall just land back down among the very Jaffa whom we were trying to escape."

"I don't suppose this is a good time to ask what happened to the original plan?" Casey asked. "You know, the one that said we would be bugging out at the first sign of trouble?"

"That is exactly what we are trying to do right now, my love," Char'el replied, with a smile. "We are now, as you so quaintly put it, bugging out."

They came to another ring transporter platform that was empty. Char'el stood at the center of the platform with his staff weapon at the ready. "Go and switch it on, Casey. I shall cover you."

When Casey ran towards the controls on the wall, she flinched when she heard the sound of a staff weapon firing. She turned towards Char'el, fully expecting the gunfire to have come from him. Instead, she let out a scream of horror when she saw Char'el was lying on the platform, with a smoking wound to his chest.

Yet before she could run to him, Casey was stunned to find herself surrounded by a dozen armed and very angry-looking Jaffa, who aimed their staff weapons right at her. 'Damn it, where'd these guys come from?'

"Ok, ok," she timidly said, dropping the zat gun and holding her hands up. "Don't shoot."

"That was the wisest thing you have done so far," a man's voice said.

Casey saw the black-clad, hooded figured whom the Jaffa called Lord Belial stride imperiously up to her. Her terror at seeing him again was only increased by the fact that she could not see his face within the folds of his hood. There was nothing there but utter blackness.

Casey glanced over and saw two Jaffa were walking over to the wounded Char'el on the ring transporter platform. Her very soul cried out in agony at the very thought of him be tortured to death, and despite what would very likely happen to her at the hands of this Belial, Casey could not allow any harm to come to the man whom she loved with all her heart.

She stood close enough to the ring transporter controls to abruptly reach out and switch it on. When she did this, the rings fell from the ceiling, knocking down the two Jaffa who were about to grab Char'el and pinning them halfway on the platform.

The Jaffa who stood in front of her, holding his staff weapon right at Casey, let out a roar of anger and pain when he witnessed the wounded Char'el being transported down to the surface--along with only the upper half of the bodies of his comrades. Their still-twitching legs remained on the edge of the platform after the rings lifted back to the ceiling and the transporter had turned off.

The Jaffa, enraged, spoke something harshly in his language at Casey. She simply stared back, having calmly braced herself for what was to come. She did all that she could to protect her lover; now she would accept whatever fate was in store for her.

Lord Belial raised his hand and haughtily said, "Wait."

But the Jaffa, too far gone in his rage, opened fire with his staff weapon. The blast struck Casey point blank in the stomach and propelled her up against the wall, where she slid down into a sitting position. Casey glanced down at the gaping black wound and dimly noted that she felt numb all over.

'It would perhaps be better to just die now,' she thought, as a welcome feeling of serenity filled her being, 'than to suffer needlessly at their hands.'

That was the last thought Casey Novak had, just before she died.

**SG-1: SVU**

Lord Belial stared down with distaste at the dead woman, then he glared at the Jaffa who had shot her dead. "I said wait--did I not?"

The Jaffa's eyes grew wide with terror as his comrades all quickly took a step back from him. "M-My Lord Belial, forgive me, but the wench had just killed my best fri--"

Belial just held out his right hand, upon which he wore a ribbon device, and blasted the Jaffa clear across the chamber. His charred body was still smoking when it landed on the floor.

Belial glanced back at the woman's body. She was very beautiful, with delicate features, long auburn hair and alabaster skin that now began to grow even more pale in death. 'Whoever she was, she is no simpleton villager from Martok,' he realized. 'From the way she and the other fought, shooting their way aboard his ship like this, they were obviously a pair of well-trained spies--but sent by whom?'

"Prepare the sarcophagus for this one," he ordered his acolytes. "I wish to interrogate her within the hour."

"Yes, my Lord Belial," one of his fellow black-robed and hooded comrades said. He gestured for the others to retrieve the body.

One of the Jaffa strode over to him. "My Lord, shall we retrieve the other? The male was badly wounded; even if he managed to get to his feet, he could not have gotten far."

Belial briefly thought it over. Someone knew enough to send a pair of spies to this place, at this precise time. That same someone may still be watching them at this very moment. Belial had the comfort and security of commanding three of Her Lord Empress Neith's Ha'tak ships, but that was _all_ he had. The abomination that dared to call itself Lord Emperor Ba'al of the Netian Empire was still far stronger than Belial was right now. And now, judging from the looks of this woman, there may well be a third party of unknown strength at play here. With so many enemies to watch out for, Belial realized that it was not a good idea to remain in one place for very long.

He called up to the peltac and ordered the commander to take off from the planet's surface immediately. Belial then left the ring transport chamber, on his way to his private quarters. He had an interrogation to prepare for.

'We have what we came for,' Belial told himself. 'Despite the chaos that the empire had fallen into, all of the pieces are still falling into place. The plan is still going smoothly. And before long, when we have completed what we have set out to do, the proper and most righteous Netian empire shall rise once again and strike back at all those who would dare to usurp it.'

**SG-1: SVU**

"Oh, yeah," Olivia said, smiling, when she emerged from the event horizon of the stargate. After several days spent in the hot, humid jungles, Olivia was instantly relieved to feel the cool, dry air of the SGC. "Oh, that's more like it…."

"I'm glad I got all dressed up again, because now I feel cold," Sam said to Olivia, as they both strode down the ramp with O'Neill and Teal'c in front of them.

"Not me," Olivia replied, still smiling. "I'm loving the AC!"

"General," O'Neill said to Hammond in greeting.

Hammond, who stood by the bottom of the ramp, nodded. "Welcome back, SG-1. And congratulations on your find."

"Well, we got the files," Daniel said, as he held up a secure case. "Now we just have to try to go through them…somehow."

"They're just thin crystal slabs, sir," Jennifer explained.

"That's all that we found inside the big honking floating head, sir," Grace said. Then she cringed slightly. "Um, to use a phrase of the Colonel's."

"Thin crystal slabs, with absolutely _no_ writing on them whatsoever," O'Neill said with exasperation. "Which was really fun for us to discover!"

"We're hoping the slabs might be compatible with the Goa'uld technology that we have here, sir," Sam added.

"And if not, Carter will no doubt build something that _will_ read them," O'Neill said confidently.

"I would not be the least bit surprised," Hammond replied with a smile.

Olivia grinned at the bashful, 'aw shucks' look that Sam had right at that moment. She gently elbowed Sam in the side to show her affection.

"Lt. Hailey and I will give it our best shot, sir," Sam promised.

"Very good," Hammond said. "We'll meet in an hour for your debriefing. Use the time to get checked out by Doctor Fraiser in the infirmary and then take a shower."

"We could skip the shower and meet you sooner, sir," O'Neill suggested.

"No, you can not, Colonel," Hammond said sternly, as he took a step back from all of them. "Trust me, all of you really _need_ a shower."

"Oh, jeez," Olivia muttered, as she shared a sheepish look with Sam, Grace and Jennifer.

O'Neill regarded Hammond with a mock-pained expression. "Why General Hammond, we love you too, sir…."

The slings and arrows to Olivia's already bruised ego only continued once she was in the infirmary. It was during her routine examination by Dr. Fraiser that she stepped back from Olivia and held her nose. "Liv, I'm very sorry," Janet said, her voice sounding comically nasal, "but you and Sam really stink…."

After she exchanged a wounded look with Sam, who sat looking equally peeved on the examination bed across from her, Olivia sarcastically said, "Is that your professional medical opinion, Doc?"

"My professional medical opinion is that you're fine--all of you," Janet said, with a glance at the group. "Now go take a shower. Please!"

Dr. Beckett, who had walked past, paused long enough to say, "They should give us hazard pay just for putting up with the fumes!"

"I know!" Janet said, looking stunned. She melodramatically waved her hand in front of her face. "I swear, my eyes are beginning to tear!"

Beckett nodded grimly. "Aye. We may have to decontaminate the infirmary when they leave."

"Hey, hey, come on! We happen to resemble that remark!" O'Neill jokingly said, as he got off his bed. "Where's your bedside manner, doctors?"

"The stench killed it," Janet said, deadpan. She then burst into a little grin when she glanced at Beckett.

"All right, fine," Sam shot back. "Let's see how well _you_ smell the next time you go out on a mission with us to a jungle planet!"

"Oh, I never sweat," Janet tried to say with a straight face--until she busted up into laughter, along with Olivia, Sam, Beckett and the rest of SG-1.

As she got off of her bed, Olivia noted that, out of everybody assembled in the infirmary, only Jennifer Hailey wasn't laughing. The young woman still sat on her bed, staring mournfully at the floor.

'Poor kid,' Olivia thought. 'She must have really liked Lt. Kelso.'

When Jennifer continued to sit on her bed long after the members of SG-1 started leaving the infirmary, Olivia leaned over to her and whispered, "Um, Jennifer?"

"What?" she said, startled. Then she realized what was going on and quickly got off the bed and joined Olivia and the others as they left the infirmary. "Thanks, Liv."

"Not a problem," Olivia said. As they walked through the corridors, to each of their respective quarters, Olivia had wanted to ask Jennifer if she was all right, yet she lacked the proper words. Then she decided to just be up front with it. She glanced at Jennifer and said, "You ok?"

"No," Jennifer replied, her voice a whisper. She then turned and walked away from Olivia, towards her quarters.

Olivia stared after Jennifer with concern. She wanted to follow Jennifer, to talk with her, yet Olivia felt awkward. For one thing, her quarters were in the opposite direction.

She stood there, undecided, until an airman walked past her. When he did, his eyes immediately went wide with shock as he brought his hand up to his face. He glanced back at Olivia with a disgusted look, as if she were the most offensive thing he'd ever smelled.

"Yeah, yeah, all right--I get it!" Olivia angrily said to him. She shook her head in annoyance as she returned to her quarters. "You know, after helping to fight against tyranny and oppression in the galaxy, you'd think some people would cut a girl some slack over a little B.O.! But oh, _NO_!"

**SG-1: SVU**

Hammond visited the ICU in the infirmary, where the man called Jonas Quinn was being kept. He was sleeping peacefully in one of the beds, now clad in a hospital gown and comfortably tucked beneath the blankets with an array of life monitoring equipment surrounding him.

When Dr. Fraiser came over, Hammond asked, "How is he?"

"He's stable," she replied, with a cursory glance at the equipment. "We got the bullet out of his back, and it all looks very good for his recovery."

"Glad to hear that, Doctor."

"You probably won't be able to speak to him for a quite while, sir," she cautioned. "I'm talking days, here, at least."

"That's all right," Hammond replied with a heavy sigh. "It looks like we have all the time in the world to speak with him, anyway."

When Fraiser gave him an odd look, he added, "The Kelownans have now broken off all diplomatic ties with us, before informing us that any attempt to send another SG team through the gate would be seen by them as an act of war. It looks as if Mr. Quinn is here to stay, Doctor."

Fraiser glanced at the sleeping Quinn with a renewed look of sympathy. "They haven't even asked for him to be returned for trial?"

Hammond shook his head. "The Kelownans appear very eager to just sweep this entire incident under the rug. We're also not going to get Lt. Kelso's body back, as well."

"Perhaps that's just as well, sir," Fraiser said sadly. "I don't mean to sound cold, but judging from the amount of radiation that I heard Lt. Kelso received, his body would most likely have to have been disposed of in the same fashion as radioactive waste. Not that I'm comparing Lt. Kelso to waste, sir!"

"No, I understand perfectly where you're coming from, Doctor."

"Did Lt. Kelso have family, sir?"

Hammond nodded. "Yes, and this still won't be an easy situation for them to deal with."

"It never is, sir."

Hammond left the infirmary, on his way back up to his office upstairs. Checking his watch, he still saw that he had a half an hour before SG-1's debriefing. 'Might as well get some paperwork done.'

He was walking down the hallway towards his office when he saw Major Sheppard emerge from Dr. Weir's office. The Major paused to give him a proper salute. "General."

"At ease, Major," Hammond told him. "I'm glad I caught you. I didn't have a chance to tell you before that I thought you did a fine job with the situation in Kelowna. I know you lost a man, and that's never easy, but you still made the most of an extremely fouled-up situation by bringing the rest of your team back. Good job, Major."

"Thank you, sir," Sheppard said, with a shy, downwards glance at the floor. "If I may be so bold, sir, might I suggest to the General that he also tell that to Dr. Weir?"

"Dr. Weir?" Hammond said, surprised.

Sheppard nodded. "She's taking the whole thing very badly, sir. Eliza--uh, I mean, Dr. Weir thinks it's all her fault."

"I see. Thank you, Major," Hammond said. "Carry on."

Sheppard saluted him once more. "Yes sir."

Hammond watched the Major as he walked away. It was obvious that he and Dr. Weir were close--just how close, Hammond wasn't sure. And it really wasn't any of his business, either. Technically, Air Force personnel were restricted from having affairs with each other--but since Dr. Weir was a civilian, that rule didn't apply here. And if Hammond could continue to ignore the unusually close relationship Jack O'Neill and Samantha Carter--which he knew to be far more than that of just good friends--then he could certainly keep his nose out of Dr. Weir's private life.

Hammond stepped up to the doorway of Dr. Weir's office. Although the door was ajar, Hammond still knocked on the doorframe.

"Yes?" Weir called from within. "Come in."

Instead of her desk, Hammond was surprised to see Elizabeth Weir was seated on the sofa that was against the far wall. She sat on one end of the sofa, with a leg bent underneath her, staring distantly into the corner--until she glanced up at Hammond and forced a smile. Yet the smile did not extend to her eyes. "I really screwed up badly on Kelowna, General."

Hammond stared at her meaningfully. When he first heard that he would be saddled with a partner in running the SGC by the IOA, Hammond had initially thought it might be some weasel-like bureaucrat--instead he got the intelligent and compassionate Elizabeth Weir, who was a genuinely decent woman whom he had since come to admire. He pulled over a chair and sat down in front of her. "I understand how you must feel, believe me. But it wasn't your fault, Dr. Weir."

But she shook her head. "John originally wanted to go in fully armed, and I nixed that idea. Perhaps if we _had_ been fully armed--"

"--the mission might have been even more disastrous," Hammond gently finished for her. "Dr. Weir, SG-9's designation is primarily that of a diplomatic team. Now, normally, they are armed just like any other SG team. But, who knows? Had you showed up fully armed with P90s, the Kelownans might have taken offense at that right away."

"And they might have sent us back through the stargate right then and there, and all of this--including Lt. Kelso's death--could have been avoided."

"Perhaps," Hammond said. "But then, a billion Kelownans might all be dead right now. Because then Lt. Kelso never would have had the chance to have given his life to save all of those people."

Weir stared at him as if he were insane. "So you're saying that Lt. Kelso's death was a good thing?"

"I'm saying that everybody who wears the uniform here at the SGC fully understands that risk comes with the job. And they all accept that fact, just as Lt. Kelso did. He was a science officer, Dr. Weir. He fully understood what would happen if he exposed himself to that radiation, and yet he knowingly went ahead and did so, for the sake of a billion people on that planet. I'm very sorry to have lost a fine officer like that--but, given the circumstances, he gave his life for a very worthy cause."

When Weir still looked uncertain, Hammond added, "I've been running this place for a fair number of years, now--long enough to know that every mission that the SGC sends out always walks a very fine line between success and disaster. And that, despite our best efforts, we will still lose good people. So please don't blame yourself, Elizabeth. Do you mind if I call you Elizabeth?"

She nodded, giving him a smile that was brilliant in its sincerity. "Only if I can call you George."

"It's a deal," he said, as they shook hands. He stood up and regarded his watch. "I'm meeting with SG-1 for a debriefing in about fifteen minutes. I'd like for you to join me."

Weir stood up and nodded. "I'd be pleased to. I've yet to actually meet SG-1, although I know of them very well from their reputation. They've been off world since I first arrived."

"It will be a good chance to introduce you to the SGC's flagship team," Hammond said, as they left her office. "And they may have uncovered a real goldmine of knowledge this time: the location of the lost city of Atlantis."

"Atlantis?" Weir said with a chuckle. "Oh, no…now you're just kidding me, right?"

Once Hammond solemnly shook his head at her, Dr. Weir's expression turned to that of shock. "Wait…Atlantis…for real?! George, that's simply an incredible discovery!"

Now it was Hammond's turn to smile. "Just another day here at the SGC, Elizabeth."

**SG-1: SVU**

Sam walked down the corridor, feeling refreshed from having just showered and put on a clean BDU. It was good to finally wash off the jungle, just as it was good to finally be here at home base once more. Sam felt as if she were finally back in the swing of things again.

'And if we can quickly crack the code of the crystal slabs, then our time spent in the jungle will really have been well worth it,' she thought.

"HEY," a familiar voice called out, "NICE TAN!"

Sam stopped short and turned around. She frowned when she saw that there was nobody else in the hallway with her. Sam realized that she had just strode by an open doorway. She walked over to it and peered inside.

Rodney McKay stood with Bill Lee and the new guy on the science team, Dr. Zelenka, at a table. It appeared they were busy going over an experiment of some kind. McKay, true to form, looked as smug as ever.

"What?" Sam asked him.

"I said, nice tan," he replied, smiling arrogantly. "Must have been great just doing nothing but sitting around on the beach for the past week or so, huh?"

Sam's temper flared at his haughty remark, but she kept it in check. She didn't want to give McKay the satisfaction. "Is that what you think we've been doing, Rodney?"

"Not that there's anything wrong with that," he quickly added. "I mean, God knows, someone as worn out as you needs all the rest she can get! It's just that while you've been sunning yourself on the beach, we've been unlocking a monumental new power source here: Naquadria."

"It was brought through the gate by Jonas Quinn," Bill said. "It's a form of naquadah, only far more potent."

"Yeah," Sam said with a nod. "Janet mentioned something about him while I was getting my check up."

"Did she mention how he was doing?" Zelenka asked.

"He's doing very good; it looks like he'll pull through all right."

"Oh, that's good to hear," Zelenka said with a nod.

"Exactly how potent is this stuff?" Sam asked Bill.

"We've just begun testing it now," he replied. "But it looks like this may well be a really viable energy source--something even more stronger than our naquadah generators, and in a smaller dosage."

"A table spoon of this may well supply power to a city for a very long period of time," Zelenka said.

"Or a starship," Sam thoughtfully added. "One of the major problems the Prometheus Project had was getting a reliable power source."

"The possibilities are endless," McKay agreed. "It's just too bad that you weren't the one to discover it, huh, Sam?"

"Um, neither did _we_ discover it," Zelenka spoke up. "It was brought to us by Mr. Quinn, remember?"

"Yes, yes, I _know_," McKay said impatiently. "But we were the first scientists to examine it, right? I'm just saying that, if only Sam wasn't so busy frolicking in the surf, she might have been here to share in the discoveries with us, that's all."

'Oh, you snarky, son of a….' Sam thought, with a slight shake of her head. Yet, instead of allowing herself to get angry at Rodney, she decided to just get even.

Sam turned to him and calmly said, "Well, you know, even while SG-1 and I were so busy 'frolicking in the surf,' as you put it, we still managed to discover something pretty cool ourselves."

"And what would that be?" McKay asked, grinning. "A new form of sunblock?"

Sam somberly stared right at him and said, "No. The possible location of the lost city of Atlantis."

Sam was pleased to see McKay's smug smile instantly evaporate. He glared at her in an accusing manner and muttered, "You're not serious…."

"She _is_ serious," Bill said, with a look of awe on his face. "Major, that's amazing!"

Zelenka, who also looked impressed, muttered something excitedly in Czech. Then, catching himself, he added, "Yes, that is…well, that's marvelous news!"

"Oh, come on!" Rodney cried, annoyed. "Don't tell me you're actually buying this, are you?! She's just making this up because she's jealous!"

Ignoring him, Sam calmly checked her watch and said, "Excuse me, I have a debriefing with General Hammond to attend. Dr. Lee, Dr. Zelenka: I'll talk with you two about how best we can decipher the Atlantis information later, ok?"

"Looking forward to it, Major," Bill said.

As Sam left the lab, she heard McKay shout, "I know you're just making this up, Sam!"

"I've worked with her longer than you, Rodney," Bill told him. "Trust me, she's not joking about this."

"You're saying that even while laying around on the beach in a backwater tropical paradise, Sam can _still_ trump me?!" McKay cried, his voice echoing down the hallway. "IT'S JUST NOT POSSIBLE, OK?! I REFUSE TO BELIEVE IT!"

Sam had a satisfied little smile on her face as she strode down the corridor. 'Gotcha!' she thought.

**SG-1: SVU**

As she sat listening to the debriefing that went on around her, Olivia glanced across the table at Jennifer Hailey. She sat intently watching the discussion. If the young woman was in any pain over the death of Lt. Kelso, she didn't show it now. Jennifer even endured the detailed description Hammond gave about what had happened to Kelso--who had died a hero by preventing the deaths of billions of Kelownans.

'Now's not the time to deal with Jenny's grief, anyway,' Olivia reminded herself, as she refocused her attention back on the debriefing. They were now discussing the retrieval of the crystal files.

"Was it hard to retrieve them?" Hammond asked.

Sam sat forward at the conference table and shrugged. "Well, once the Colonel pulled out the power source, the floating head just fell to the ground and cracked open."

"Sort of like humpty-dumpty," Jack added.

"The files were easily visible within a protective casing," Sam continued. "It was then a simple matter for us to extract them."

"And, after so many centuries, it's now no longer a floating head, but a smashed up relic on the floor of a darkened tomb," Daniel said, sounding despondent. "I wish there was some way of getting the information without disturbing the temple as much as we did."

"I know," Grace agreed. "I feel bad that we had to defile a place that the Mumani saw as being a treasure."

"Most of them didn't even know it was there, Lieutenant," Jack tersely replied. "Their 'beloved' King Murtas saw to that."

"You really don't trust King Murtas, do you, Colonel?" Hammond asked.

"About as far as I can throw him, sir," Jack said. "As I've stated before, I have no real evidence--but my gut tells me that it would be a bad idea to turn my back on the guy. Any future SG missions to that planet would do well to heed that advice."

"That's good enough for me, Colonel. Be sure to include that recommendation in your report on this mission," Hammond said.

"It's easy to see why you would suspect Murtas, Colonel O'Neill," Dr. Weir said. "Especially after two of your teammates were abducted in the manner that they were."

Olivia was surprised to see Weir glance with concern over at Grace and then her. "Are you two all right? Those rope burns on your wrists look very nasty."

"Fine, Ma'am," Grace said with a smile. "Thank you."

"Yeah, I'm good," Olivia replied with a nod. "Thanks."

Olivia wasn't quite sure what to think when she first heard that Hammond would be getting a civilian partner--who was forced on him by the newly created International Oversight Advisory, which in turn was formed when the stargate program was revealed to other governments on earth after the Disappeared--people all over the world who were abducted by Neith--were returned to their homes.

Initially, Olivia figured the stargate program would be exposed to the world, yet she was stunned to see that its top secret status remained in place when the other governments agreed to go along with the United States--but their agreement came with a price: the creation of the IOA, along with a nonmilitary partner who jointly ran the SGC with Hammond. That turned out to be Dr. Elizabeth Weir, the very same woman responsible for the delicate negotiations which revealed the existence of the stargate program to the selected governments, which included all countries from whom Neith had abducted people from.

So far, Olivia liked Weir; she appeared level-headed and knowledgeable. Yet Olivia was grateful that Hammond was still here--for she knew from experience that there was nobody better than the General to back you up whenever it hit the fan. And even before she became an official member of SG-1, Olivia quickly realized that it hit the fan quite often around here.

Turning to the rest of them, who were all seated at the large conference table, Hammond said, "And now we just have to translate these crystal files…."

"I can say that they're not a match with the Goa'uld tech that we have on hand, sir," Jennifer spoke up. "Nor can we read them on anything earth-made that we have."

"Perhaps we can give Thor a call," Jack suggested. "See if he can bring his special reading glasses."

Olivia smiled at the puzzled look that Weir gave Jack just then. Apparently, the good doctor was getting her first dose of Jack's special brand of off-the-wall humor.

"Both Thor and the Asgard are still busy dealing with the replicators," Hammond replied.

Olivia noted how both Daniel and Sam shuddered visibly at the mere mention of the replicators' name. Even Teal'c's usually stoic mask broke into a disapproving frown.

"I haven't seen the replicators, yet," Weir commented to Hammond.

"Neither have we," Olivia told her, gesturing to herself, Grace and Jennifer.

"And you should all consider yourselves to be very lucky," Jack grimly told them.

"Ok," Weir timidly said, with a nervous look. She briefly drummed her fingers on the table for a second before she changed the subject. "One question: if you can't read the crystal files, then how do you know the location of Atlantis is even in there?"

"It was written on the walls," Daniel answered. "Lt. Satterfield pointed it out for me. She was struck at how there was mention of Plato, the famous Greek philosopher up there."

Weir nodded. "Plato famously wrote about a fabled city called Atlantis."

"Yes, and the text on the walls specifically said to ignore him," Daniel told her. "In essence, it said, 'Heed not the words of Plato, for the lost city of Atlantis lies elsewhere.' It then stated that this knowledge of the location of the city was contained within the floating head."

"If only it could have just said where Atlantis was right on the darn wall," Jack said, annoyed.

Weir slowly shook her head. "How many thousands of years ago did Atlantis supposedly vanish? Would any technology found there still be usable?"

"There is only one way to find out," Teal'c said. "And that would be to find the city and see for ourselves."

"That's the spirit, T," Jack said with approval.

"If we're dealing with Ancient technology--which Atlantis most likely is--then it will still be good to use, no matter how old it is," Sam told Weir. "After all, the stargate was built by the Ancients, and we use it without fail everyday."

"Most of the technology employed by the Goa'uld was created by the Ancients," Teal'c added.

"I also understand that you brought back a power crystal," Hammond said to Sam.

She nodded. "Yes sir. The last remaining fully charged crystal, which kept the floating head floating. It's still got a lot of juice in it. If nothing else, we should be able to--"

Sam was cut off when an alarm blared throughout the base. Walter's voice came over the intercom: "Incoming traveler! General Hammond to the control room, please."

"Excuse me," Hammond said, as he got to his feet. "Doctor Weir, care to join me?"

She nodded as she got up and left the conference room with him.

Jack abruptly got up, and when he did, so did the rest of SG-1. "Hey, mom and dad," Jack called after Weir and Hammond. "You mind if us kids tagged along?"

The mortified look that Weir shot Jack at that moment was so funny that Olivia had to slap her hand over her mouth to keep from bursting out in laughter.

"Yes, Colonel," Hammond casually called back, as he descended the stairs to the control room. Then he turned to Weir, who was beside him, and added, "Don't worry; you'll get used to Colonel O'Neill soon enough."

"You mean he's like this all the time?" Weir asked, shocked.

"Sir, please," Sam said to Jack with disapproval, as they walked down the steps ahead of Olivia. "You're scaring Dr. Weir."

"If she's afraid of me," Jack said, "then just wait until she sees the meat loaf the mess hall serves on Monday. Now _that's_ a real horror show!"

"It's Io'tan, sir," Walter reported to Hammond when they all entered the control room. "Her IDC checks out."  
"Is the Hak'tyl in orbit?" Sam asked.

"No, Major," Walter replied. "We just received this incoming wormhole, only."

"Open the iris," Hammond commanded.

Once the iris on the stargate was opened, the familiar form of Io'tan emerged onto the platform--and just from the look on her face, Olivia could tell that something was seriously wrong.

"I need help!" Io'tan called out to them. "Char'el is mortally wounded, and Casey Novak is missing!"

'Oh, Casey,' Olivia thought with dread, as she and the rest of SG-1 all ran to meet with Io'tan in the gate room, 'what trouble have you gotten yourself into now?'

**SG-1: SVU**

Casey let out a scream as she quickly sat up in a shot.

She sat there, inside what looked like a golden coffin, as the lid slowly slid open beside her. Apparently this device--whatever it was--had been in the process of opening just before she woke up.

'Woke up?' Casey thought with a frown. 'Wait a minute, I had been shot point blank with a staff weapon! Shouldn't I be dead?!'

She glanced down at her bare stomach, which had been turned into a ruined, blackened crater by the Jaffa's staff weapon blast. Yet now, it was completely normal. She wasn't injured at all. Oddly enough, Casey actually felt quite good.

"What the hell is going on?" Casey wondered aloud. "And where are my clothes?"

The warm winter outfit that she wore, complete with boots and a cloak, was gone. It was replaced by a scant loincloth, along with a simple wrap of material that just covered her breasts. Casey's eyes grew wide when she realized that her cross, which hung from a chain around her neck, was also gone.

A Jaffa emerged from the darkness that surrounded her and grabbed Casey by the arm and one leg. He hauled her out of the golden coffin and stood her up next to him. The floor felt cold and hard beneath her feet, and before Casey could even get her bearings, the Jaffa roughly pulled her arms behind her back and bound them together at the wrists.

'This can't be the afterlife,' Casey told herself, 'because I refuse to believe a Jaffa will be waiting for you at the pearly gates. So I must not have been as badly wounded as I thought I was before.'

The Jaffa then half-dragged, half-carried a struggling Casey down a long, vast corridor, into a small chamber that had a wooden chair in the center. The Jaffa forced her to sit in the seat, to which Casey was futher trussed to with more of the thin leather strips that had been used to bind her wrists.

"You're wasting your time," Casey told the Jaffa, trying to keep her voice strong and confident. "Because I don't know anything."

The Jaffa ignored her as he walked away, leaving Casey to herself, helplessly bound to the wooden chair. Casey tried struggling against her bonds, and when that failed to produce results, she glanced around in an attempt to at least see where she was.

Casey let out a shocked gasp when she saw there was a drain in the smooth floor of the chamber. This scared her badly, for what use was a drain in a floor in a room like this, unless it was for excess blood?

'I'm in a torture chamber!' Casey thought with fear. "Oh, God…oh my sweet Jesus, please…."

"Jesus," a male voice said from the darkness. "Jesus Christ. Yes…of course…."

"Who said that?!" Casey cried, as she tried to look around her. But there was only darkness. "Who's there?!"

She was startled when the black robe-clad figure stepped out of the shadows. It's hood covered its head. "Welcome back, my dear."

Casey whimpered slightly when she realized that this was Lord Belial, the one who ordered the Jaffa to take her alive so that he could devour her.

Belial held out his arm in front of the bound woman and opened his hand. Casey's silver cross dangled from the chain in front of her face.

"When I saw this, I realized that you were Tauri," he said. "For the religion of the cross could only be found on earth, the Tauri homeworld. I had forgotten which of your prophets was the one nailed to the cross--until you spoke his name just now."

Casey flinched as he carefully placed the necklace around her neck. "You may have this back, if it gives you comfort, my dear."

Feeling very naked and vunerable in front of this being, Casey tried to hide her fear with anger. "Who are you?" she demanded. "What do you want with me?!"

"What I want is simple," the hooded figure said. "I just wish to speak with you for a while. As to who I am…."

His black-gloved hands reached up and grabbed the edges of the hood, which he pulled back from his head. And when Casey saw what he truly looked like, she could not believe her eyes.

The inhuman being that stood before her had a dark green head, with big, bulging black eyes that did not blink. It's mouth was a light tan beak that twitched up and down quickly as it made a series of clicking and popping sounds. The metallic device it wore on a strap around its neck started to flash a brilliant red in synch with the sounds that the creature made.

"My name is Lord Belial," the device translated for Casey. "And, as you can so clearly see, my dear, I am not originally from this region of space…."

**To Be Continued....**


	5. Chapter 5

_I would like to thank Mia Rose 156 and James Axelrad for their kind comments last time._

**Stargate: SVU**

**Chapter Five**

Ba'al sat in the command center on Mount Tanis, impatiently watching the results of the battle on the main screen. Before him, his staff of military officers scrambled about, trying to gather the latest information from the battlefield, which was several hundred light years away. This was a rather special battle, for it was the debut of his Anubis clone warriors. They were assaulting an outpost of Lord Yu's on a moon in the Trylonian system. The outpost wasn't actually strategically important; Ba'al wanted to give his clone warriors a relatively easy target for their first engagement.

Mar'ek, his first prime, nodded with satisfaction as he approached. "My Lord Emperor, they succeeded."

Ba'al grinned with surprise. "Already?"

"They stormed the outpost within five minutes," Mar'ek reported, taken aback by the news himself. "They met with fierce resistance from Yu's men once inside the compound, but they quickly quelled all opposition."

"Casualties?"

"On our side? None." Mar'ek consulted a screen in a console before them. "Three of the clones suffered major injuries--one had his arm blown off, while the other two were shot through the chest. But they all not only survived their injuries, they continued to fight on."

"The one whose arm was blown off, what's his condition?" Ba'al asked.

"The arm has been reattached and is working perfectly," Mar'ek said. "The wounded all healed themselves without any help from our medics. We have video footage of the attack, should you wish to see it, My Lord Emperor."

Ba'al gestured for Mar'ek to show it, and when he saw it, Ba'al was awed at the sight of three of his clone warriors attacking a squad of Yu's Jaffa in a hallway. The clones fought magnificently, giving no quarter, even after they had taken several staff weapons hits to their bodies. After Yu's men were slaughtered, one of the clone warriors raised his jackal-like head and let out a howl of victory before he charged onwards with his comrades.

"As you can see, my Lord Emperor, your clones are a success," Mar'ek said.

"That they are," Ba'al agreed. He was very pleased to see them not only following orders precisely, but also all working so well as a cohesive battle unit. "It is now time to use them for a more important mission. Prepare them for transport to the front lines on Bracca."

Mar'ek nodded. "As you wish, my Lord Emperor Ba'al."

Flushed with success, Ba'al got up and left the command center. These new clones were working quite nicely. So much so, that they very well may turn the tide in the war against that pig-headed Yu and his fellow Goa'uld cronies.

Ba'al knew full well that several of the less powerful Goa'uld had allied themselves with Yu against him--and that would be the last mistake they would ever make in their lives. His clone army would now see to that.

'No, they deserve a better name than that,' Ba'al told himself. 'Since they are invincible, perhaps they could be called the Invincibles?'

He shook his head in disapproval. That sounded like a foolish name from one of those silly superhero comic books from the Tauri popular culture. Then it came to him: the Immortals.

'Yes, I rather like the sound of that,' Ba'al thought. 'Ba'al's Immortals. It set them apart from the rest of the--'

As he walked into the personal quarters that he shared with Qetesh, Ba'al bumped into one of her personal slaves. He was a muscular young man clad only in a loincloth, and he held one of Qetesh's necklaces in his hand. "My Lord Emperor," he said as he primly bowed.

Ba'al forgot the young man's name, but that didn't matter now. "What are you doing with that?" Ba'al demanded to know.

"I sent him back here to retrieve this necklace," Qetesh replied, as she strode into the room with two more of her scantily-clad male slaves. "I had meant to wear it while I went shopping, but I had forgotten it."

Ba'al gestured at the slave who held her necklace. "It was good that you returned, my love, for I was about to have your boy toy here beheaded for stealing your necklace."

Qetesh shrugged easily as she took the necklace from the servant. "No matter. I have fourteen more such lovely toys. Come, my muscular darlings, let's go shopping!"

Ba'al slowly shook his head as he watched Qetesh and her skimpily clad entourage as they strutted out the door. She was the empress of an interstellar empire so vast, so mighty, that it had to be measured in light years, and yet Qetesh so often frolicked about like an errant little brat.

'Well, at least she was good in bed,' Ba'al thought. While his beloved went on yet another shopping spree, Ba'al figured that he might as well head to the lab. 'I still need to track down the source of that power surge that was reported by--'

Ba'al flinched when he heard a sound in the next room. It sounded like something shattered.

Keeping his hand on the handle of the knife that he kept hidden within his tunic, Ba'al warily entered the room--only to find a young woman kneeling on the floor, fretting over a broken vase. When she saw him, the woman let out a gasp of shock.

"Oh, my Lord Emperor Ba'al," she cried, mortified. "I am so sorry!"

Ba'al released his grip on the knife and held out his hand. "Stand up."

She instantly did as he ordered. The dark hair-haired woman was barefoot, and clad in a loincloth that had a silver Mayan pattern on the edges. Bare-chested, she wore an elaborate necklace whose intricate weave pattern was made of small silver chains. The wide pattern design of this necklace just barely covered her supple breasts; it was the standard dress for female house servants here on Mount Tanis, and it was easy for Ba'al to see why: the more scant their outfit, the less likely they were to steal something by hiding it in their clothing. She stood in the standard servant manner, with her eyes cast downwards in subservient fashion.

"What is your name?" Ba'al asked.

"Mila, my Lord Emperor."

"Look at me, Mila."

She appeared to be early to mid twenties, and was quite beautiful, with large almond eyes that were painted Egyptian style with heavy black mascara.

"What are your duties here, Mila?"

"I am a house servant, my Lord Emperor Ba'al," she said. "I-I just started."

Ba'al glanced wryly at the broken vase. "Yes, so it would seem."

"I am so sorry, my Lord--"

He raised his hand, and she instantly grew silent. Right at that moment, Ba'al had made a decision. "You are a house servant no longer, Mila. Come with me."

Mila followed quickly, her wide, anxious eyes darting here and there, as Ba'al led her down to the lab. The Jaffa guards at the door of the lab stared at Mila strangely, as if wondering what Ba'al had planned to do with her inside. No doubt a very nervous Mila wondered the very same thing.

When Ba'al entered his private lab, Mila let out a gasp of horror when she saw the sleeping form of Anubis in the stasis chamber. Ba'al roughly grabbed her slender arm and pulled close to him. "Don't worry about him," he told the girl, enjoying her fear, "worry about me."

Mila frantically shook her head. "My Lord Emperor, I am so sorry about the vase!"

"That vase was very beautiful," Ba'al told her, as he gently rubbed his hand up her bare back. "And so are you."

"I will do anything," Mila breathlessly said, as their mouths drew close together. "Whatever my Lord Emperor wishes, I shall do it."

Mila let out another surprised gasp as Ba'al grabbed her by the back of her head. With his other hand he lifted the expansive necklace that she wore, which covered her breasts, and smiled at what he saw underneath. "Very nice. You shall replace the vase, Mila."

Mila, who had obviously braced herself to be ravished by him, gave Ba'al a strange look. "Does my Lord Emperor wish for me to find another vase right now?"

Ba'al smiled broadly at her innocence, her sweetness, which he found to be quite charming. "No, Mila. _You_ shall replace the vase."

He took her by the arm and gently made her climb onto the edge of his worktable, where she knelt down with her hands clasped together in her lap in a docile manner.

Ba'al looked her over with a satisfied expression on his face. She was indeed a gorgeous young woman who was very pleasing to the eyes. "You are no longer a house servant. From this moment on, you are my personal servant, Mila. Understand?"

Mila nodded, looking relieved. "Yes, my Lord Emperor Ba'al."

"You are to kneel here, and remain in this exact position, until I tell you otherwise," he ordered her. Then Ba'al took a seat at the worktable and switched on the main computer. He began looking into the strange reports of a power surge emanating from the original cloning machine, which he had used to first begin the cloning process on Lord Anubis. He had discovered the cloning machines in a sub basement within the royal palace. Apparently, the late Lord Empress Neith was looking into cloning technology--research which Ba'al had happily continued for his own usage.

Yet as hard as he tried, Ba'al could not even find any record of the original power surge, let alone what caused it. 'No matter,' he thought. 'What with the massive damage that Mount Tanis suffered in the recent war, which erupted on its very streets, a mere power surge here and there should be expected.'

Ba'al sat back in his chair and admired the sight of the lovely Mila, who continued to kneel in the precise pose that he had ordered her to maintain. Now he understood why Qetesh surrounded herself with her little man toys. They served as her muses--much like how Mila was now his own very pretty muse.

"I must say, Mila, that you are far more pleasing to look at than a mere vase," Ba'al said, as he got back to work.

Mila just gave him a timid little smile as she continued to rigidly kneel on the table.

**SG-1: SVU**

Sam ran through the SGC fully clad in her combat gear, which included a special bulletproof vest--along with a helmet that hung from its strap on the back of her web gear. Her BDU was also reinforced with a heavy winter jacket and gloves, since Io'tan said that the northern region of Delis--the planet where Casey was taken captive--was currently in the middle of a hard winter. And she was packing her P90, along with a Berretta hand gun, her zat gun, and extra clips for all of her weapons. SG-1 had just been given the go-ahead by Hammond and Weir to go after Casey, and Jack had ordered all of them to fully arm themselves for action. He wanted SG-1 to be ready for anything, and Sam couldn't agree more with his decision.

But, before she could meet with the others, there was something important that Sam needed to do, first. The case she carried in her hands had something to do with this last bit of business before she left with SG-1.

When she arrived in the lab, Bill Lee looked up at her with an expression of consternation at the gear she wore. "You're not leaving already?" he asked. "You just got back!"

Sam just nodded at him, Zelenka and McKay. "Yes, I'm leaving now. SG-1's been ordered on a rescue mission."

"Who are you rescuing?" Zelenka asked.

"Casey Novak," Sam replied. "She's just been captured by a Goa'uld named Belial."

"Oh, damn," Rodney said anxiously. "Is she all right?"

"We don't know, that's why we're going after her," she curtly told him. Glancing back at Bill Lee, Sam placed the case on the table and added, "Look, just because I've been called away doesn't mean you shouldn't examine the crystal tablets. They're all in here, Bill. The sooner you can find a way of reading them, the sooner we can all find Atlantis. Ok?"

Bill nodded. "Got it. Be careful out there, Major."

"Yes, you be careful," Zelenka added. "Bring Ms. Novak back home safe."

"We will," Sam swore. She glanced evenly at Rodney, who stared back at her sheepishly. "Well, Rodney, you beat me at discovering naquadria, and now it looks like you'll also be the first to find Atlantis. Congratulations."

Sam turned on her heel and left the lab--but was stopped in the hallway when Rodney came out after her. "Sam, hey, whoa! Wait a minute!"

She impatiently turned to him. "What?"

"Um, look, for what it's worth, I hope you find Casey all right," he said uneasily. "And, um…you make sure you watch your own back out there, huh?"

Sam stared at him, amazed. "Thanks Rodney. I will. Excuse me, SG-1's waiting on me, so I gotta go."

As she ran down the corridors, Sam smiled slightly at the fact that Rodney wasn't a total selfish moron 24/7. 'Will wonders ever cease?'

The airmen guarding the doorway to the gate room both snapped off a salute at her as Sam swept past them, and she quickly waved a return salute of her own.

The moment she stepped foot into the gate room, Jack turned to the glass window of the control room and shouted, "Walter, spin it!"

The stargate rumbled to life as the chevrons needed to dial Delis each locked into place, with the voice of Walter Harriman reading off each one. Sam looked up and down the line of people who made up SG-1, and saw that they were all loaded down with extra weapons, just like her. She smiled at the sight of Janet, who tried to adjust her combat helmet for a better fit, without much success. She was coming along with them because Io'tan had requested a doctor to help check on the wounded Char'el.

"We're not encountering combat the moment we step through," Sam said, as she helped adjust Janet's helmet. "So you don't have to wear this right now, if you don't want to."

"I usually don't like wearing a helmet, but it's warmer than the regular cap," Janet explained. "And Delis is supposed to be very cold right now."

Sam nodded as she shot a concerned look over at Olivia. The usually jubilant and sassy Olivia now appeared very subdued and morose--Sam felt sympathy for her, knowing full well that Olivia was worried sick about Casey. Daniel, sensing Olivia's mood, stepped in close to her and gently caressed the back of Olivia's neck.

"Listen, we're all going after her right now," he assured Olivia. "We're doing everything we can to find Casey, and we won't stop until we _do_ find her."

"But Io'tan told us that Casey was already off planet," Olivia glumly said.

"But the tracking beacon that she placed in Casey's clothes is still working," Sam told Olivia. "Casey may no longer be on Delis, but they're still tracking where her ship is going."

"Let's just get aboard the Hak'tyl before there's a chance they lose the signal," Jack muttered, as he impatiently waited for the last chevron on the stargate to lock. "C'mon, c'mon, already…."

The stargate finally opened with a flourish, and once the event horizon stabilized, SG-1 began to hustle through the shimmering, water-like surface.

Sam emerged on the other side into a bitter cold, winter wasteland. She flinched when she saw an Alkesh vessel, a Goa'uld heavy bomber, hovering in the air nearby. But she stopped herself from instinctively reaching for her P90, quickly realizing that the Alkesh was a friendly from the Hak'tyl.

"Get under the ship," Io'tan told them all. "We will take you up with the ring transporter."

Once they beamed aboard the Alkesh, Sam felt it veer off and fly up into the atmosphere--no doubt towards the Hak'tyl, which was in orbit. Io'tan pressed a comm device on her wrist. "Are they still tracking Casey Novak?"

"Just barely," a man replied. "They report that the signal is breaking up."

"Oh, damn," Olivia said, looking worried.

"They might pick it up better once we jump into hyperspace," Hailey said.

Sam nodded in agreement. "She's right. The ship may just be falling out of tracking range."

"Inform the peltac not to wait for us," Io'tan urgently spoke into her comm. "Once this Alkesh is aboard, the Hak'tyl is to jump immediately!"

"Understood," came the reply.

Io'tan then spoke with several of her Jaffa while SG-1 milled about. Now Sam started to feel warm in her thick winter garments aboard the well-heated Alkesh. She pulled open her jacket as best she could underneath the bulletproof vest. Daniel and Satterfield started removing some of their heavy winter garments, as well.

Io'tan came back over to them after speaking with the Jaffa. "Those men whom I have just spoken to have made inquiries in the local village at my request. They've confirmed Char'el's report about this Lord Belial. The villagers say that many years ago, Belial buried something in the ground just outside of the village, under the supervision of Neith herself."

"And, whatever this thing was, they came back and got it, along with capturing Casey," Jack said with a nod. "You were a confidant of Neith for many years, Io'tan. You ever hear of this Belial, or what they may have buried here?"

Io'tan shook her head sadly. "No. It was not unusual for Neith to just disappear for weeks at a time--and then return without any explanation. I'm afraid she did not tell me everything concerning her own affairs."

"Nor did she need to," Daniel said grimly. "She was the Lord Empress, after all; she really didn't need to explain herself to anybody."

"So we've got three Ha'tak ships, all bearing the Netian Empire seal," Jack said thoughtfully, as he summed up the tactical situation. "They come here to Deli…."

"Um, Delis, sir," Sam politely corrected.

"Carter…whatever, ok?" Jack said, waving his hand. "They come here to Deli to pick up something that Neith buried years ago. Anybody got any ideas what it could be?"

"A weapon," Teal'c suggested.

"I thought Neith kept all of her weapons in the vault on Mount Tanis," Sam spoke up. "Which we destroyed."

"Right," Hailey said with a nod. "So why keep a weapon buried out here in the sticks?"

"Precisely for the reason that Major Carter just mentioned," Teal'c said. "We destroyed Neith's arsenal on Mount Tanis. Therefore, in light of such an event, it would be wise to hide weapons in discreet locations across the galaxy."

"Yeah, but that still doesn't answer the question of what kind of a weapon it is," Daniel said. "Or if it even _was_ a weapon that they dug up on Delis, for that matter."

"If not a weapon, then what else could they have retrieved?" Jack asked him.

"Information," Satterfield interjected. "Maybe Ba'al's looking for Atlantis, too?"

"Oh, no, don't say that," Jack told her with a shake of his head. "That's all we need right now!"

Olivia, who had been attentively watching this conversation from the sidelines, said, "But it's not really Ba'al who we're dealing with here, right? Both Char'el and the villagers said that it's somebody called Lord Belial. Anybody know who he is?"

Before anyone could answer, there was a sudden rumbling all around them, then it settled into silence. Sam realized that the Alkesh they were in had just landed. When she felt the familiar sensation of an abrupt shift in the core of her very being, that told Sam that the Hak'tyl had just jumped into hyperspace.

"Oh, whoa," Olivia said, as she uneasily clutched her stomach. "I think we're in hyperspace, guys."

"Yeah, we are," Sam said with a broad grin. It was surprising to see how quickly Olivia had gotten used to their world.

"This way," Io'tan told them, as a massive door opened to their right.

Olivia warily eyed a still-smiling Sam as they descended the ramp from the Alkesh. "Sam, what?"

"Nothing," Sam replied. "It's just that it didn't take you long to get your space legs, Liv."

Now Olivia smiled, for the first time since hearing of Casey's capture--and it was a great thing for Sam to see. "Olivia Benson, Astronaut," Olivia said, shaking her head in disbelief. "Who knew?"

Io'tan walked just ahead of them in the massive hanger deck of the Hak'tyl, speaking intently on her comm. She turned back to them and happily said, "Once we jumped into hyperspace, they reacquired the signal!"

"Great news," Jack replied. "Daniel, Satterfield, care to tell us what you know about a Lord Belial, if anything?"

"Belial is actually mentioned in the Dead Sea Scolls, which were discovered in 1947 in a cave by the Dead Sea," Daniel said, as they all walked over to a lift. "It's mentioned in the scrolls that he's the leader of a group known as the Sons Of Darkness."

Jack stared at him in disbelief. "The Sons Of Darkness? They sound like Flash Gordon villains!"

"Who's Flash Gordon?" Satterfield asked Hailey, as they stepped into the lift.

"It's a bad science fiction movie they made back in the 80s," Hailey replied with distain. "Flash Gordon was a football player! It was really stupid."

Sam knew in point of fact that Flash Gordon actually went back to the 1930s, from the movie serials that were based on a comic strip. Yet since this wasn't a salient point in this conversation, she kept her silence.

"Flash Gordon was originally created much earlier in your history," Teal'c solemnly told Satterfield and Hailey. "The original movie serial from the 1930s was supposed to have been the partial inspiration for Star Wars."

'Well, so much for keeping quiet with non salient information,' Sam thought with a smile.

Olivia turned to the lieutenants and added, "I swear to God, you two are _so_ young, it's not funny!"

"I know what we're watching on our next movie night," Daniel said with a smirk. "Flash Gordon Conquers The Universe, anyone?"

"Yeah, and hopefully, Casey will be with us," Olivia muttered. Her grin faded as she sank into a deep depression once more.

"Casey _will_ be with us, Liv. Count on it." Jack firmly told her. He glanced at Teal'c and asked, "You ever hear of this Belial guy?"

The Jaffa shook his head. "His name is not known to me, O'Neill."

"That may be because, in the ancient legends, Belial isn't a god," Daniel said. "He's actually a demon. I forget the exact Hebrew translation for his name…."

"I believe it's 'worthless,' Dr. Jackson," Satterfield said.

"Yes!" Daniel said excitedly. "Thank you, Grace. It's supposed to mean that Belial himself shall never attain a high level of power. According to the Dead Sea Scrolls, upon the return to earth of Belial and the Sons Of Darkness, an epic battle between good and evil--light and dark--is supposed to be waged. With Belial and his boys being the black hats, of course."

"Yet another 'end of days,' apocalypse theory," Janet said with disgust. She had just removed her helmet. "Great…just what we need!"

"Well, Belial is a real person," Daniel said. "So it stands to reason that what's written about him may come true."

"Not if we can help it," Jack solmenly said.

The lift stopped and the doors opened to reveal the peltac, which was a beehive of activity, with technicians and officers all clamoring about. Io'tan walked up to Lennox, the commander, and got a report from him.

"The fact that this Belial isn't too well known might be because of two reasons," Jack said, as they waited for Io'tan. "The first one is that he and his 'dark sons' may be the Netian Empire's version of a special ops team--which isn't good, because who knows what the hell guys like _that_ are up to!"

"Wait, aren't _we_ technically a special ops team?" Daniel asked, puzzled.

"Yeah. But _we're_ the good guys, Daniel."

"What's the second reason, Jack?" Olivia asked.

"Belial's a wild card," he replied. "He's not working for Ba'al, but against him."

That gave Sam an idea. "Actually, both theories could work, sir! Belial could have been a special ops agent working for Neith. He and his 'sons of darkness' may have been away on a mission when Neith was killed. And, having returned, they might not be very happy at seeing Neith dead and Ba'al on the throne."

"This is, of course, all conjecture," Teal'c pointed out.

Jack nodded. "Yeah. You know, normally, I really don't mind when Goa'ulds try to kill one another--in fact, I cheer them on! But since Belial has Casey, it doesn't really matter what his agenda is right now. We've got to get aboard his ship and find her."

Io'tan and Lennox came over to them. "Lennox says that the tracking device is still working very well."

"You know which ship the signal is coming from?" Jack asked.

"The center vessel," Lennox answered. "Directly ahead."

"Excuse me," Janet spoke up. "But I was wondering if I could see Char'el right now."

"Yes, of course," Io'tan said. "This way, please, doctor."

After she arranged for one of her aides to escort Janet down to the infirmary, Io'tan rejoined the conversation. "I must remind you, Colonel, that Belial has three ships in all. As great and mighty as the Hak'tyl is, we still can not take on three Ha'tak vessels in battle."

"And I'm not asking you to," Jack told her. "Just take us to wherever they're going. We'll figure out a plan of action once we get there."

"And what if Belial's headed back to the dragon's den, Mount Tanis?" Daniel asked.

"Then we'll just have to come up with one hell of a plan, Daniel," Jack said patiently.

Sam visibly shuddered as her mind dredged up the intense memories of when she and Olivia were being stalked through a maze by raptors while they were captives on Mount Tanis. Even after they had returned in force with the rest of SG-1, the seat of power for the Netian Empire still proved to be a very dangerous place for them all.

"I don't know about you, Sam," Olivia said uncomfortably. "But I really wouldn't want to make a return trip to Mount Tanis anytime soon."

Sam just smiled humorlessly. "Liv, you took the words right out of my mouth…."

**SG-1: SVU**

"Jacob!" Hammond said with a smile, as his old friend walked down the ramp from the stargate. "Good too see you!"

Jacob Carter smiled. "Good to be back home, George."

Hammond gestured to Elizabeth. "Jacob, this is Dr. Elizabeth Weir."

"How do you do, General Carter," Elizabeth said, as she shook his hand in greeting. "I've heard so much about you, sir. It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

"I've heard about you, as well, Doctor. And, please, call me Jacob--I'm technically retired from the Air Force."

"But he hasn't slowed down in the least," Hammond told Elizabeth. "The Tok'ra keep him busy these days."

"And I've been _real_ busy the past few hours," Jacob added, "since the Tok'ra High Command has just discovered that Ba'al may have unleashed a new weapon in his war against Lord Yu."

"Damn," Hammond muttered, annoyed. "What type of weapon?"

"We don't know for sure. Just that an outpost of Lord Yu's was wiped out--with every last one of his Jaffa violently killed. And, from what I've been able to gather, there was either very little, or no casualties at all among Ba'al's Jaffa."

"This outpost, was it of any strategic significance?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, it was just a supply depot--and that was the thing that raised the red flag for us," Jacob told her. "You see, this looks like Ba'al was just testing his weapon out on some out of the way place, first."

"Before using it on a front line battlefield," Hammond said in understanding. "Do you have any idea what this weapon might be?"

"No, but the High Command wants me to find out," Jacob replied. "There's been a major build up of forces between Ba'al and Yu at a planet called Bracca. If Ba'al is going to use his new super weapon again, we figure it will be there."

"Anything we can do to help?" Elizabeth asked.

"I'd like to borrow SG-1, if I could," Jacob said. "I could use their expertise in trying to figure out what this new weapon is, and how we can develop a response to it."

Hammond shook his head. "Sorry Jacob. You just missed them."

"SG-1 has been sent on a rescue mission," Elizabeth explained. "Casey Novak, from the Hak'tyl, has been captured by a Goa'uld lord."

"Damn, I'm very sorry to hear that about Casey," Jacob said with sincere sorrow. "Hope she's all right. Well, looks like I'm on my own on this one."

Hammond held up his hand. "Wait, you may have asked us at a bad time; most of our teams are off world right now. But let's see if I can't cobble together some back up for you."

**SG-1: SVU**

'When it rains, it pours,' John Sheppard thought, as he walked down the corrridor to the science labs.

He had been looking forward to some R maybe finally sitting down to watch that game that he'd recorded. But then General Hammond had asked to see him. Turned out the general needed somebody to lead a special mission, working alongside a Tok'ra operative, to gather intel on a possible new weapon that was being deployed by Ba'al. It was strictly volunteer, of course--and, of course, Sheppard wasn't about to turn down an opportunity like this. After the foul-up on Kelowna, he was looking forward to making a positive contribution to the war effort against the Goa'uld.

Hammond told him to assemble his team. Sheppard already got his medical doctor and second in command in place, now he just needed to get a science officer.

He entered the lab and saw three men arguing over what looked like a weird table light. Upon closer inspection, Sheppard saw that it was a glowing crystal of some kind, about football-sized, and overall yellow in color with thin black lines running through it.

"But what's a _Zed_ PM?" a short guy with glasses was saying to a man with a Canadian flag shoulder patch. The short guy spoke with a Czech accent. "I thought we'd agreed to call this a ZPM."

"That's what I've _been_ calling it!" the fellow with the Canadian flag patch angrily said. "A Zed PM!"

"Ok, ok, hold on," a taller, balding man with glasses told them. He turned to Sheppard and asked, "May we help you, Major?"

"Yeah, uh, sorry to disturb your little discussion," Sheppard replied. "But I was wondering if either of you knew where a Dr. Rodney McKay was?"

"I'm Dr. McKay," the Canadian said with annoyance. "Who are you?"

"Major John Sheppard, U.S. Air Force," he introduced himself. "I'm putting together a team to check out a possible new weapon that Lord Ba'al may have deployed. We're going off world right now. I need a science officer, and General Hammond suggested you."

"A new weapon?" McKay shot him a nervous look. "This mission sounds dangerous!"  
"No more dangerous then your last mission to Mount Tanis," Sheppard told him.

McKay looked surprised. "You heard about that?"

"Why shouldn't he?" the Czech spoke up. "God knows you've been bragging about it all over the base non-stop!"

"Do you mind?!" McKay said, with an irritated glance at the Czech. "I'm talking here!"

"Did I come at a bad time?" Sheppard asked.

"Actually, yes, you did," McKay told him. He gestured at the crystal. "Uh, we're very busy here with this new power source--not to mention the other really important stuff we're working on. So, I'm sorry, but I must decline."

Sheppard shook his head as he turned to leave. "Not a problem. It's strictly volunteer, anyway. Sergeant Emmaus and I will just find somebody else. Thanks for your time, Doctor."

"Oh, whoa, wait a minute!" McKay suddenly called after him. "Did you say Sergeant Emmaus?"

"Yes."

"Marine Sergeant Gail Emmaus?"

Now it was Sheppard's turn to give McKay an annoyed look. "_Yes_, doctor. She's my second in command for this mission. Do you know her?"

"Um, yes--as a matter of fact, I do know her," McKay replied. "And, uh, I've changed my mind. I'll be happy to come along."

Sheppard stared at this flaming geek, trying to imagine him and Emmaus together in any form of social situation--but he just couldn't think of any. Yet that wasn't important right now. His team was finally assembled, and it was time to get moving. "Very well, Doctor McKay. Thank you. Meet us in the gate room in fifteen minutes in full combat gear."

"Combat gear?" McKay's eyes grew fearfully wide at that. "Um, yeah, sure. You bet…."

As Sheppard left the lab, he overheard the little Czech say, "Oh, thank God he's leaving! Maybe now we can finally work in some peace and quiet…."

"Hey, come on!" McKay yelled at him. "I'm standing right _here_!"

Sheppard returned to his quarters and got dressed up in his full combat gear, then he stopped by the arsenal to retrieve his P90, Barretta and zat guns. When he reached the main control room, Sheppard glanced through the window and saw Sgt. Emmaus was already waiting in the gate room with the fourth member of their team, Dr. Carson Beckett.

Hammond, Jacob Carter and Elizabeth were all conversing behind Walter, who sat in his usual place at the controls. Sheppard snapped off a salute at Hammond and said, "Pleased to report that my team is assembled and ready, sir."

"Dr. McKay has agreed to join you?" Hammond asked, surprised.

"That he has, sir." Sheppard pointed out the window, where they could see McKay had arrived in the gate room, with his combat vest and other gear haphazardly slung over his shoulder. Shaking her head, Gail Emmaus immediately went to him and looked after McKay like a mother hen, supervising him in the proper manner of putting on his vest and helmet. For his part, McKay looked very happy just to be in her presence.

"Strange," Elizabeth said with a slight frown. "Rodney once told me that if he never left earth again, he would die a happy man. Wonder what changed his mind?"

"Probably the sight of a new Goa'uld weapons system in action appealed to him," Jacob said.

"Yeah, that--as well as the sight of something else," Sheppard said, with a glance out the window at Gail Emmaus. "Or, should I say, some_one_ else."

"She _is_ rather attractive," Elizabeth whispered to him, as she and Sheppard followed Jacob into the gate room. "For a jarhead."

Sheppard paused by the doorway and glanced back at her. "Jealous?"

"Not quite, just a little nervous," Elizabeth replied. She tapped the helmet that he had hanging from his web gear. "Shouldn't you be wearing this?"

"It's just a recon mission, Elizabeth," he assured her. "We're just sneaking in, taking a look, and sneaking out."

She discreetly glanced around them, and seeing that the coast was clear, Elizabeth took his hand in her own and held it firmly. "Can you blame me if I just want you safe?"

"If you wanted me safe," he said gently, "then I guess you shouldn't have invited me to join the SGC, huh?"

"Point taken," she said, with a little sheepish smile. "Be careful, John."

"Always," he confidently replied, as he squeezed her hand. "I'll see you when I get back."

She nodded. "Looking forward to it, as always."

When Sheppard joined the others on the stargate ramp, he saw both McKay and Emmaus were busy soothing the rattled nerves of Dr. Beckett, who would be going through the gate for the very first time. Sheppard gestured to Walter to start up the gate.

When the event horizon flared to life, Walter called over the intercom: "Good luck, Sg-9½!"

Jacob stared back at Walter as if he were crazy. "Nine and a half?!"

"We're a combination of people from several SG teams." Sheppard shrugged as they walked up the ramp. "Works for me…."

McKay and Emmaus stood on either side of a terrified Beckett, who stared into the glimmering event horizon as if he were facing his own mortality. "Are you sure it's safe?" he asked them.

"You just step through, and before you know it, you're on the other side," McKay said patiently. "What could possibly go wrong?"

"The planet Bracca, here we come," Emmaus cheerily said.

Taking a deep breath, Beckett nodded grimly, and then he--along with McKay and Emmaus at his sides--stepped into the wormhole.

"'What could possibly go wrong?'" Sheppard repeated McKay's last statement. "Isn't that what Custer said just before Little Bighorn?"

Jacob chuckled. "Nice to see you're getting the hang of life here at the SGC, Major."

Just before they entered the wormhole, Sheppard sarcastically said, "Oh, it's been a big barrel of laughs so far!"

**SG-1: SVU**

"How is he?" Olivia asked.

Janet nodded as she gazed down at the unconscious Char'el. "He's doing very well. The Hak'tyl healers got to him just in time. He'll pull through, now, thanks to his symbiote."

Char'el abruptly awoke just then and grabbed Olivia's arm. "I am sorry, Olivia Benson."

"Oh, no, no," Olivia soothed him. "You have nothing to apologize for, Char'el."

"She saved me," he told her. He still looked very weak. "I was wounded, helpless, on the ring transporter platform--until Casey switched it on, sending me down to safety, despite being surrounded by armed Jaffa! She is now there, in the hands of that Lord Belial! I failed her miserably, Olivia Benson, as I have failed you for not saving your best friend."

Olivia, deeply touched at the act of self-sacrifice that Casey committed for her lover, gently patted Char'el. "We're getting her back, Char'el. You just rest, now."

To her surprise, Char'el feel right to sleep. Then Olivia glanced up and saw that Janet had increased the dosage on his IV. "I bumped up his sedative. He's still too weak to be awake right now." Janet eyed Olivia critically. "You all right, Liv? You look a little ragged."

She nodded. "Just tired."

"Try and get some rest," Janet told her. "That's an order."

"I will," Olivia promised, as she left the infirmary. She saw Sam standing by the doorway.

"How is he?" Sam asked.

"He'll pull through, but he's insane with grief and guilt over leaving Casey behind," Olivia replied. She then frowned at a group of Hak'tyl bystanders who stood staring at her and Sam with awe. "Um, who are these guys?"

Sam just rolled her eyes at them. "I thought I lost these guys…c'mon, Liv."

"What do they want?" Olivia asked, as she allowed Sam to lead her down the hallway.

The crowd followed, all whispering "Tauri! Tauri!" over and over again.

When they entered a lift, Sam pushed a button and shut the doors on them. "Remember when we were captives on Mount Tanis, when they tried to feed us to the raptors in the maze?"

"I'm trying to forget that, Sam."

"Yeah, well, apparently these guys still haven't forgotten it. And they seem to be worshipping us over it!"

"Get out of here," Olivia said, stunned. "That's amazing! But I didn't even do anything! All I recall was being scared half out of my wits the whole time. You were the real hero, then."

"Hey, I was just as scared as you, Liv," Sam said.

The lift doors opened and they emerged on a group of children playing a game in a spacious room. Grace Satterfield sat on a bench, along with some other adult residents of the Hak'tyl, staring despondently at the children.

"Hey, Grace," Olivia said, as she and Sam walked over to her. "Something the matter?"

"It's Noli," Grace replied. "I finally see him again, after all this time, and he won't even come near me!"

"Maybe he doesn't recognize you with all that gear on," Olivia said. "I recall you saying that you had stripped down to just a shirt and pants the last time you were playing with them."

Grace dismally nodded. "And as tempting as it is for me to do that, I can't do that again now, since SG-1 is on alert."

"We could come out of hyperspace at any time," Sam said sympathetically. "We need to be ready to leave at a moment's notice."

"There's something else," Grace said. "Noli and the other kids have been asking about Casey. If she will come back to them. She was playing with them just before she left on the mission."

Olivia thought back to the moment when Casey told her and Elliot that she had planned to stay with the Hak'tyl. Elliot was in a hospital bed at the SGC at the time, recuperating from having a Goa'uld removed from him--as well as having been shot by Olivia while said Goa'uld possessed him. Olivia recalled being angry with Casey's decision; only now, looking back on the moment, she realized that she hadn't done enough.

Olivia now wished she could go back in time and grab Casey and drag her to a safe place and keep her there. It would have been no better than an act of kidnapping, but at least Casey would have been out of harm's way.

Olivia felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up to see Sam standing there. "We'll get her back, Liv. Count on it."

"That's what I told Char'el," she replied. "I just have to make myself believe that, as well. It's just so easy to lose hope."

"It was easy for us to lose hope in the raptor maze on Mount Tanis," Sam reminded her. "But we didn't, and we're still here. So please don't give up on Casey."

"I won't, Sam," Olivia promised.

The silence was shattered by the roar of a klaxon. And just as she flinched from this, Olivia then felt her stomach do a somersault as the flashing lights just outside the massive window suddenly switched to the darkness of normal space. "Oooo," Olivia groaned. "Did we just jump out of hyperspace?"

Before Sam could reply, her radio squawked, and Jack's voice could be heard: "Carter, report to the peltac, on the double. Out."

"On my way, sir," she replied into the radio on her shoulder. "Liv and Satterfield are with me. Out."

They got back in the lift and rode it up to the peltac, which was filled with frantic activity. Olivia's eyes grew wide when she saw video footage of a pair of Ha'tak ships exchanging fire in space. "What's going on?"

Jack stood grimly with his arms crossed. Daniel, Hailey, Teal'c and Janet were with him. "Belial and his boys just exited out of hyperspace," Jack told Olivia. "When we followed, we arrived here."

He gestured at another screen, which showed a massive fleet of Ha'tak ships in orbit of a planet.

"Holy Hannah," Sam muttered, staring at the screens in shock. "It's a full-scale invasion! But of what planet?"

"They tell me it's called Bracca," O'Neill replied. He solemnly shook his head. "Brace yourself, Carter; because, instead of a rescue mission, SG-1 has now become involved in an all-out war."

**To be continued....**


	6. Chapter 6

_I would like to thank Barbarossa Rotbart for his kind comments. _

_I'd like to also thank all of you who favored/alerted this story. Thanks much. _

**SG-1: SVU 3**

**Chapter Six**

When Casey awoke from her dreamless sleep, she found herself lying once again in the golden sarcophagus. She quickly sat up just as the massive stone lid began to swing open, and she took in a great gasping breath of air. She immediately checked her body for the gaping bloody wounds--the mortal wounds--that Belial and his minions had inflicted on her during the torture session; a horrible event which was the last thing Casey remembered, just before she had felt the life ebb out of her body and blacked out for the very last time.

They had mutilated her body to the point where they had broken her; Casey, screaming in agony, had told them everything she could about the Hak'tyl and everyone aboard it. As much as she hated to have told him everything, Casey had no choice, for she had uttered these words with her dying breath. She had died betraying Char'el, Io'tan and all of those aboard the Hak'tyl.

Belial had merely nodded his approval, and then one of his minions had slashed the helplessly tied Casey's throat, and she had died. And her last thought was that of relief. Relief from the simple fact that the torture had ended, and that she would no longer live to bear the guilt of having handed over sacred information about her friends and allies.

But now, as she regarded herself in the sarcophagus, Casey saw no wounds from any torture--and she realized for the first time, with growing horror, that she had been in fact dead, and that this sarcophagus, which looked dreadfully like a coffin, was ironically some sort of machine that revived the dead.

'I _was_ dead,' Casey thought with numb shock. 'The blackness, that dark empty void, that was when I was…gone!'

Two of Belial's dark robe-clad minions waited until the sarcophagus was fully open before they grabbed a struggling Casey and dragged her out. "Leave me alone!" a struggling Casey cried at them. "You got what you wanted from me! I told you everything, now just leave me in peace!"

Ignoring her, they hauled Casey up to the peltac, which was bustling with activity. They stood her before Belial, who sat in the command chair, his alien head uncovered by the hood he normally wore. He continued to gaze at a tactical display on the main screen.

One of the two minions bound Casey's arms behind her back at the wrists while the other held her arms in place. When she was securely tied, Belial then got up from his command chair and came over to her.

"Greetings, Casey Novak." Belial delicately fingered the cross that she wore from her necklace. "Did you meet your magical carpenter when you were dead? Did he have any words of reassurance for you?"

Still clad only in the feeble wrap and loincloth, with her hands now tied, Casey felt extremely vulnerable--not to mention the fact that she was still rattled at having been brought back from the dead. She was still unable to even wrap her mind around the very concept. However, Casey certainly wasn't going to give this bastard the satisfaction.

"I did see Him," she said defiantly, "and He told me you were going to rot in hell, you sadistic son of a bitch!"

"One would say that I already _am_ in hell," Belial replied, with a sadness in his voice. "For life without Her Lord Empress Neith is truly the definition of hell itself. But, as you shall see, we plan to remedy that solution."

He gestured to two more of his minions, who were busy setting up what looked like a Goa'uld ribbon device on a table behind them. It was a slightly more elaborate design than the usual ribbon device, which was normally a deadly weapon when worn on the hand, and could only be activated by a Goa'uld. Casey then saw them pick up the same small case that she'd seen the Jaffa hand to Belial on Delis.

One of the minions opened the case and produced what looked like a slender silver card, about three times the size of a regular playing card. He placed this card into a slot within the special ribbon device.

"Her Lord Empress Neith did not think that this plan would work," Belial told Casey. "Yet she is still enough of a visionary to take every precaution, despite her skepticism. And Her Lord Empress Neith shall now reap the benefits of her advance planning."

Casey stared at him with puzzlement. "You now speak as if she is still alive. But you must realize that she's--"

"Dead, yes, but that is only a temporary situation," Belial told her. He gestured grandly at his minions who were now finishing up their work on the ribbon device. "We are now striving to bring Her Lord Empress Neith back from the dead."

"Like you just did with me?" Casey whispered, amazed. Then she shook her head. "But, wait, don't you need a body? Neith's was destroyed. I saw it happen myself."

"If we had the body of our Lord Empress Neith, then we would have simply used the sarcophagus to bring her back," Belial explained. "No. This process is far more complex, utilizing many more components, but I created it for just this event: in case she should die in battle with her body destroyed. Of course, we did not foresee the Netian Empire being taken over by the abomination known as Ba'al. His blasphemous usurpation of Neith's throne has made everything much harder for us. Yet we of the Sons Of Darkness thrive on challenges. And we shall prevail, Casey Novak, with your help."

Casey's eyes grew wide with terror when she glanced over at the ribbon device, which one of the minions slipped onto his arm. "Oh, no! No way! You are _not_ going to shoot me with that thing!"

Yet the panic that Casey felt quickly melted away once she heard an odd sound come from Belial. It was laughter. His beak-like mouth clicked open and shut repeatedly as the translator device that he wore on his neck transformed the noise he made into a sound of merriment, which sounded very hollow.

"You are mistaken, Casey Novak," Belial said, once he had finished laughing. "For your body, lovely though it may be, would be the wrong receptacle to receive the life force of Her Lord Empress Neith, which is now contained within the ribbon device that my comrade wears."

Casey stared at him, stunned. "That was what you retrieved from Delis? The very _soul_ of Neith?"

"Her thought patterns, her memories, her soul--call it what you wish," Belial said. "But it is indeed contained within the card that is now loaded onto the special ribbon device. She allowed me to copy her life essence into the Lazarus machine, and we kept it hidden on Delis until now."

Belial walked over to his command chair, where he pressed a button. "Recently, my agents on Mount Tanis were able to create a clone of her Lord Empress Neith using DNA samples that she also left behind. This was actually very easy for them to do, since Ba'al had foolishly revived the cloning machines I had left behind, so that he could create a special army for himself." Belial laughed briefly once more. "By doing this, the abomination never realized that he was helping us to overthrow him!"

When Belial pressed the button, it opened the massive windows on the peltac, and Casey momentarily forgot herself as she was lost in the splendor of a spectacular space battle between a fleet of Ha'tak ships above a planet.

"Welcome to Bracca, Casey Novak," Belial said grandly.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked, both puzzled and mesmerized at the interstellar war that waged furiously before her.

"A revolution--one that will restore her Lord Empress Neith to her rightful place as ruler of the Netian Empire. And thanks in large part to your help today."

Casey gave him a frown. "What exactly am _I_ going to---uuughhh!"

One of Belial's minions had gagged Casey from behind with a heavy cloth strip just then. While he tightly tied off the gag behind her head, Casey felt her ankles being trussed securely together by the second minion.

'Oh, God, oh God, oh, God,' she thought, gripped in the icy fingers of fear, as she helplessly stood there--unable to move or speak. Casey flinched when Belial touched the cross on her bare chest once more in a lingering fashion.

"You should pray to your crucified carpenter, Casey Novak," Belial said in a mocking tone. "For it may well help you to survive this day."

He then snapped his gloved fingers, and Casey let out a muffled whimper from under her gag as she was effortlessly lifted up by Belial's minions and carried off to an unknown fate.

**SG-1: SVU**

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!"

Ba'al, who sat on his throne in the center of the peltac, glanced up with a start. Mar'ek, his first prime, was so taken aback that he instinctively drew his zat gun at the person who had dared to raise her voice to His Lord Emperor Ba'al. Then Mar'ek quickly holstered his weapon once he saw who had spoken.

It turned out to be Qetesh. She stood there glaring with a mixture of shock and anger at young Mila, who primly knelt on the floor beside Ba'al's leg.

Although Ba'al knew full well that the very sight of Mila had incurred her anger, he'd decided to have some fun with Qetesh's rage. "Why, whatever do you mean, my dear?"

"I mean that _thing _right there!" Qetesh said, as she pointed at the trembling Mila. "Get out of here right now, you little hussy!"

"I-I beg your pardon, my Lord Empress," a fearful Mila said, as she began to timidly crawl away from Ba'al's side.

"Mila, where are you going?" Ba'al said sharply to her. "You are _my_ personal servant, are you not? Stay right where you are!"

"Y-Yes, my Lord Emperor," Mila said, as she miserably crawled back and knelt by his side once more.

Now Qetesh's full rage was focused on Ba'al. "Your personal servant?! Since when did _you_ have a personal servant?!"

"Since I decided that it would be a good idea," Ba'al replied evenly. He gestured at the young stud who had escorted her. "Come, my dear, surely you can not be angry with me for doing so, especially since you now have--what? How many personal servants _do _you have now? Fifteen?"

"Fourteen," Qetesh said curtly. "Malvern was annoying me, so I had him killed. But that is not important right now--"

"No, it is not," he agreed, cutting her off. "We have launched a massive planetary assault on Bracca. Our attention can not be diverted at this time by a domestic dispute. Please take your seat by my side, my dear, and share with me the glorious victory that the Immortals will deliver us."

Qetesh gave him a perplexed look. "The Immortals?"

"The new name I have chosen for the clones of Anubis. Do you like it?"

Qetesh nodded as she took her seat next to him. Her own personal servant took his place by her side with his head bowed respectfully. "It is one of your better ideas, Ba'al." Then she glared with vicious hatred at Mila. "Unlike this _thing_ you've chosen to pleasure you!"

Mila cringed from her withering look--until Ba'al reached down and gently grabbed the servant girl by her bare shoulder and held her firmly upright until she got the message. "You are the personal servant of the Lord Emperor of the Netian Empire," he said, as much for Qetesh as for Mila. "Behave like it."

"My Lord Emperor," Mar'ek called from the main console. "All planetary defenses have been wiped out. We are preparing to land the Immortals planet-side right now."

"Excellent," Ba'al replied, as he watched a video replay of one of Yu's Ha'tak ships exploding as the result of a firefight between it and three of Ba'al's vessels. "Keep me appraised of the battle at all times."

"Why can we not just blast the base from orbit?" Qetesh asked him, annoyed.

"Because, my love, the majority of the enemy base is buried deep underground, making it immune to an orbital artillery assault." Ba'al was actually pleased that she had asked that question, for it meant that Qetesh was no longer fixated on Mila at the moment.

However, Qetesh shot Mila a murderous glare. "Perhaps if we transported your little slut down to the surface, she could clear the enemy base of its troops just by scaring them off with her ugly looks!"

"Now, now, my dear," Ba'al chided lightly her. "If I can put up with fourteen of your boy toys, then surely you can tolerate Mila's presence."

Qetesh was just about to respond when she was interrupted by Mar'ek. "My Lord Emperor, we have an incoming message."

"I do hope Yu's troops are not surrendering already," Ba'al said, displeased. "I look forward to seeing my Immortals in action."

"No, my Lord Emperor, it is from one of our own ships." Mar'ek frowned at the console. "The message is from someone called Lord Belial."

Ba'al gave Qetesh a questioning look, in the hope that she might know who this was--yet she just shrugged in puzzlement at him. "Very well. Put him on--main screen."

The image of a man dressed in a black cloak and hood appeared on the screen. He bowed his head and crossed his fist in front of his chest, which was the customary greeting within the Netian Empire. "My Lord Emperor Ba'al," he said, his voice having an odd, electronic tone to it. "I am pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Show me your face, Lord Belial," Ba'al said.

"As you wish, my Lord Emperor."

When Belial removed his hood, everyone on Ba'al's peltac either gasped in shock or turned away in fear.

Yet Ba'al did neither. He stared long and hard at the bug-eyed creature with a beak for a mouth. "Who--or what--are you supposed to be?"

"The Sons Of Darkness, my Lord Emperor Ba'al," the creature answered with a bow. "Our sect had been in the service of Her Lord Empress Neith for many thousands of years, since she rescued us from extinction on our home world, during her banishment to the outer realms of the galaxy by Ra."

"And your allegiance is to Neith?"

"We have only just returned from a deep space mission that had taken many years to complete, and while we are very sorry to hear of Neith's death, our allegiance is to the Netian Empire--and to you, my Lord Emperor Ba'al. We wish to prove this to you."

"How?"

"During our mission, we have uncovered a plot against you, my Lord Emperor Ba'al. The Tauri seek to assassinate you."

Ba'al chuckled. "I must say that I am not really surprised to hear that. I am not exactly a favorite of the Tauri people. What proof of this plot do you have, Lord Belial?"  
Belial gestured to something off screen. "We have captured one of the Tauri spies."

The comm camera pulled back to reveal a young woman who was seated next to Belial on a stone bench. Barefoot, she was scantily clad in a very basic slave outfit. She writhed fruitlessly against her bonds, and was also gagged. She glared back at all of them and frantically shook her head while desperately trying to say something through her gag.

"Her name is Casey Novak, and she is from the Hak'tyl, the rogue Ha'tak vessel which escaped from Mount Tanis, while you acquired your glorious victory," Belial said. "We captured her on Delis and thoroughly interrogated her. She is indeed a spy, my Lord Emperor, and is part of a plot to assassinate you once you return to Mount Tanis."

"When you say that you have thoroughly interrogated her, just how thorough was the interrogation?" Ba'al asked.

"We used the sarcophagus to bring her back to life, my Lord Emperor Ba'al."

Ba'al nodded with a smile. "I see. You have permission to come aboard with your prisoner."

Belial bowed. "It shall be our honor to meet you, my Lord Emperor."

When the screen went dark, Qetesh appeared by his side with an anxious look. "You're not letting that creature on this ship, are you?!"

"He and his Sons Of Darkness shall be properly scanned for weapons," Ba'al assured her. He then glanced over at Mar'ek and added, "See to it, my First Prime."

Mar'ek bowed. "I shall greet them myself, my Lord Emperor, along with my best squad of Jaffa."

"No," Ba'al told him. He gestured at the Immortal troops who stood guard all around them. "Take them, instead, Mar'ek. Should Belial try anything, the Immortals will stop him, no matter what happens."

Mar'ek bowed again, then he left the peltac with a squad of Immortals in tow.

"Fire on their ship now," Qetesh pleaded. "Erase all traces of the poisonous regime of Neith, my love."

"Lord Anubis is a major holdover from Neith's rule, and look at how well he serves us, my dear."

"You were unable to bring Lord Anubis himself to heel," Qetesh corrected him mildly. "It is the clones of Anubis who serve you, my dear, and I still do not trust _them_, either."

Ba'al gently rubbed the side of her face. "Rest easy, my love. If these Sons Of Darkness do wish to serve us, then we should at least hear them out. But if I do not like anything about Belial, or what he has to say, then I shall have the Immortals kill him and his Sons right where they stand. Satisfied?"

Despite the fact that the expression on her face said 'no,' Qetesh nodded and said, "Yes, my Lord Emperor Ba'al."

Ba'al smiled broadly. "I never grow tired of hearing my title being spoken, my love."

Qetesh had a somber look on her face when she said, "I just hope, in your boldness to expand our empire, that you do not wind up _losing_ the use of your title, my Lord Emperor Ba'al."

**SG-1: SVU**

When they emerged on the other side of the stargate, Sheppard was pleased to see the MALP that had been sent through earlier was still there, intact and operational. Still, he did a visual sweep of the area, which was an open grassy plain, and was satisfied that there was no threats to be seen.

For his part, Carson Beckett looked very happy to be all in one piece. He stood frantically patting himself down, and it proved to be quite a comical sight; Beckett looked like he was helpfully frisking himself for a security checkpoint. Both McKay and Sgt. Emmaus just stared at him, wide-eyed.

Jacob Carter was about to say something to Sheppard when the doctor's frenetic self-groping caught his attention. Jacob then turned to Sheppard and whispered, "I take it Dr. Fraiser was busy…."

"She's out with SG-1," Sheppard confirmed. He frowned at the sight of Beckett intently squeezing his arms. "Uh, it's his very first time through the stargate…."

"Really, Major?" Jacob said sarcastically. "Wow, you'd never know it!"

"Um, Doctor Beckett," Sheppard called. "I trust that everything's present and accounted for?"

"Oh, aye," Beckett nervously replied. His arms were folded, and he kept squeezing his biceps. "But I think one of my arms is bigger! It feels thicker!"

"Yeah, well, maybe it'll fix itself once you go back through the stargate," McKay said with a shrug.

Sgt. Emmaus, who had been staring at Beckett as if he was crazy, now gazed at McKay as if _he_ were completely off his rocker.

"What?" Rodney asked Emmaus, as she just slowly shook her head at him.

"Let's get moving," Sheppard called to his motley team. "Dr. Becket, maybe your arm will straighten itself out in the meantime."

"I hope so," Beckett said, as he gave his biceps one last squeeze. He then picked up his pack and slung it over his shoulders so that it rested on his back. "I must say, Major Sheppard, Bracca looks pretty quiet for a place that's supposed to be a battlefield."

"We got here just before the action started," Emmaus told him, as they walked away from the gate. "Which was the plan."

"That we did, Sergeant," Jacob replied, as he pointed at something in the sky. "And it looks like the party's starting right now!"

Sheppard glanced up and was instantly awed by the sight of a Goa'uld Ha'tak vessel exploding in the lower atmosphere of Bracca. He _saw_ it first, before he heard anything--then, about a few seconds later, came the low, rumbling boom of the explosion.

"What is it?" Beckett asked, looking stunned. "Did the moon just blow up?"

"No," McKay told him, as they watched a shower of flaming debris fall to the ground a few miles away from them. "But it's something pretty close to the size of a moon: a Ha'tak attack ship."

"Having studied Goa'uld planetary assault tactics," Sheppard said to Jacob, "I know it won't be long before they seize control of the gate."

"I realize that, Major," Jacob replied. "That's why I hid my Teltac ship under cloak not far from this area. I originally landed on Bracca, then gated to the SGC from here."

Sheppard nodded in approval. "I'm surprised Yu's boys don't have the gate under guard at all times."

"The planet serves as a rest stop for the ships in Yu's Ha'tak fleet, so there are always ships coming in and out, anyway," Jacob said. "This gate gets very little use. The base itself is a hardened, underground bunker which we suspect has its own stargate that's been brought in by Lord Yu. And you're right about the tactics, Major, Ba'al's boys will seize control of the stargate by dialing it and keeping it open."

"Which should render the second stargate inoperative as well," McKay chimed in. "Because, on any planet with more than one stargate, you--oh, my God, look at that!"

They glanced up just as another low rumbling explosion could be heard and felt. The glowing pieces of another destroyed Ha'tak entered the atmosphere, looking like a flaming meteor shower in the middle of the bright blue sky. Sheppard relaxed when he saw that the fiery pieces landed on the other side of a mountain that was several miles to their right.

"The battle's really heating up, now," Jacob commented.

"I know," Sheppard said uneasily. He really didn't like being in this open plain. "How far is the base, Jacob?"

"Just behind that thicket of woods," Jacob told him. "Which is also where the Teltac is parked."

"Let's double-time it, people," Sheppard ordered. "I want to get out of this clearing, now!"

No sooner did they get under the cover of the thick woods than Sgt Emmaus glanced up at the sound of a steady engine. "We've got aircraft, sir!"

"I hear it," Sheppard grimly said. He was grateful that Emmaus was packing the M249 SAW light machine gun. It's bulk and added weight made the SAW a bear to haul around--as opposed to the slender P90--but the SAW's larger caliber bullets made it a far better anti-death glider gun, and Sheppard was now happy that the good Sergeant had thought to bring it along.

But the engine noise they heard wasn't from a Goa'uld death glider. SG-9½ ducked down as an Alkesh bomber swooped low over their heads. Sheppard was now also grateful to be under the cover of the thick trees, which swayed above their heads from the ship having flown directly above them.

They watched as the Alkesh landed in front of the stargate. Then a ramp opened, and a squad of troops emerged from the ship. The Jaffa all appeared to be wearing some type of dog-faced helmets. As he watched them, Sheppard nodded. "True to form, they seize the stargate."

"This must mean the battle in space must be over," Jacob said. "We can now assume that they--"

"Oh, no," McKay said, as he stared in horror at the Jaffa through a pair of binoculars. "Oh, my God, no…it can't be…."

"It can't be…_what_, Dr. McKay?" Sheppard said, as he grabbed his own binoculars.

"It's Lord Anubis," McKay said, his face had become ashen once he lowered his binoculars. He pointed--his hand shaking badly--with stark terror at the Alkesh. "L-Lord A-A-Anubis…."

"The invincible dog-faced guy you and SG-1 ran into on Mount Tanis?" Jacob asked, alarmed. "Which one is he?"

"All…of…them," McKay said, his voice a high-pitched croak of panic.

"Wait a minute, they're all just wearing…." Sheppard started to say, as he glanced through his binoculars. Then Sheppard stopped when he saw that, instead of helmets, the troops he saw walking around the Alkesh all had the heads of dogs.

'No, jackals,' he mentally corrected himself. He remembered reading the report that Colonel O'Neill wrote regarding SG-1's encounter with Lord Anubis. 'He had the head of a jackal. And, apparently, so do these guys…or these dogs…whatever….'

"I think it's now safe to say what Ba'al's new secret weapon is," Jacob said grimly, as he also scanned the Anubis troops with his own pair of binoculars. "He's somehow managed to clone Lord Anubis and make himself an unstoppable army."

Sheppard flinched when his binoculars came to rest on one of the Anubis clones, who glared right back at him. It opened its mouth in a roar and pointed at them. This drew the attention of its comrades.

"Sir, they see us!" Emmaus said, as she lowered her own binoculars and grabbed hold of her SAW. "And here they come!"

"Damn it," Sheppard muttered, as he watched the Anubis clones race across the clearing towards them. And they were fast; they were very damn fast. "Jacob, where's that ship of yours?!"

"Follow me," Jacob told him, as he started running.

"Everybody follow Jacob right now!" Sheppard ordered, as they began running through the woods.

"This is the plan?!" Beckett said in a panic. "To just run for our lives?!"

"It's a good plan!" McKay proclaimed. "Trust me, Carson, running for our lives is a _very_ good plan!"

**SG-1: SVU**

"Get us out of here," Io'tan commanded Lennox, "full speed."

"What?!" O'Neill angrily said. "Wait a minute--"

Io'tan held up her hand. "Lord Belial's three Ha'tak ships were already too much for us to handle, Colonel. You can not possibly expect us to take on the Netian Empire's fleet."

Realizing that what he would say next would be very important, O'Neill forced himself to take a deep breath and calm down. "I didn't ask you to, Io'tan. Look, we just got here, ok? So why don't we just--"

"No, we're leaving," Io'tan curtly replied, "right now."

"Wait a frigging minute," Olivia cried. She pointed a finger out the peltac windows at the massive collection of Ha'tak ships that lay before them. "Casey is out there, somewhere! We can't just leave her!"

"The time to mourn Casey Novak will be later," Io'tan said.

Olivia's eyes flared with rage. "You will _MOURN_ Casey?! How do you know for sure that she's already dead?! Unless you don't really care…."

She took a threatening step towards Io'tan, but both Daniel and Sam grabbed and held onto her tightly. Yet despite the fact that she was being kept away from her target, Olivia still glared at Io'tan with utter hatred. "You can't just give up on her like that! Not when we're so damned close!"

"I need to get this ship out of harm's way," Io'tan said, as she stared wide-eyed at the fleet of Ha'tak vessels. "We have children aboard, entire families. You must understand, this vessel is a close-knit community in space, we can not risk open engagement with the Empire."

O'Neill moved around so that he blocked Io'tan's view of the fleet of ships. "Look at me, Io'tan. Just look right at me, please. Nobody's ever asked you to fight, and we're certainly not expecting you to take on this damn fleet."

She nodded at him. "Then we're in agreement. We leave now."

"From all outwards appearances," Teal'c spoke up, "we are merely one Ha'tak among a fleet who are participating in a planetary assault. Yet, should we abruptly leave, we shall undoubtedly arouse suspicion. And they will most likely give chase."

O'Neill nodded. "Good point, T. Running now will only expose who you really are to that fleet, Io'tan. And what about Casey? Isn't she a part of your little 'close-knit family' as well? Doesn't she deserve better than for you to just cut and run on her?"

"That is not fair!" Io'tan hotly told him. "Before going to Delis, Casey Novak knew the risks, and she accepted them!"

"And what about Char'el?" O'Neill asked. "Which one of you gets to tell him that you abandoned the love of his life just when Casey needed our help the most?"

When Io'tan flinched, as if stung, O'Neill knew he had gotten to her. She turned to him and just shook her head in despair. "What would you have me do, Colonel?!"

"For right now, just stay here, in the background," he calmly replied. "Don't draw any attention to yourselves by simply acting like you're a part of the fleet."

"Io'tan," Lennox called from the main console. "Belial's Ha'tak has just launched a vessel!"

When O'Neill glanced out the window, he saw it. An Alkesh quickly flew from Belial's vessel. "Where's it heading? The surface of the planet?"

"Unknown," Lennox replied. "But Belial's ship exchanged communications with one of the ships in the fleet."

"Let's hear it," O'Neill said.

Lennox shook his head. "I can not. The entire exchange was on the imperial channel, which is encrypted."

"Imperial?" Sam said, her eyebrows raised. "Sounds like His Lord Emperor Ba'al is right here, sir."

"Yeah, Carter, it would certainly seem that way." O'Neill glanced out at the Alkesh as it flew towards a Ha'tak vessel with inlaid gold around its crests. Right about now, he really wished he had a nuke-tipped missile. Just set it off in the direction of Ba'al's Ha'tak, and all of their problems would be just blown up in a radioactive cloud. End of story…at least until the next psycho Goa'uld come strutting along.

Hailey walked over to Lennox and said, "Can you give me a copy of the entire transmission? Just the audio file would be fine."

"Yes, I can." Lennox gave her an uncertain look. "But, since it's encrypted, it will only be gibberish."

"Just like most Goa'uld talk," O'Neill muttered derisively. He continued to stare at Belial's ship, considering his options.

"I'd at least like to try to decode it, if you don't mind," Hailey said.

"Not at all, Lieutenant," Lennox replied, as he made her a copy. "You have both audio and visual in this file. Good luck."

Hailey grinned at him as she accepted the file and placed it in a safe place within her combat vest. "Thanks!"

As O'Neill continued to stare at Belial's ship, he'd noticed that all of the members of SG-1 had huddled around him, one by one. "Lennox," O'Neill called, "you still receiving the signal from Casey's transmitter?"

"Yes, Colonel."

"Where's it coming from? Any change in location?"

"Still emitting from the Ha'tak, Colonel. No change in signal intensity, or location."

"Where did you place the bug on Casey, Lennox? What part of her clothing?"

Lennox looked confused. "I was not the one who--"

"I placed the bug on Casey Novak, without her prior knowledge," Io'tan said. "I placed it within the folds of her cloak."

O'Neill nodded when he realized that the basic plan that had been formulating within his mind was starting to come together. 'But will it work?'

"What are you thinking, sir?" Sam asked him.

"Carter, when you and Olivia were captured on Mount Tanis, they stripped you, didn't they?"

Both Sam and Olivia looked momentarily uneasy as they recalled their capture. "Um, yeah," Sam confirmed. "They did."

"But not completely," Olivia added. "I mean, we weren't completely naked. We wore just our pants and tank tops. Why?"

"Oh, wait," Sam said suddenly. "I think I see where you're going with this, sir. You think they stripped Casey of her clothing--or at least they removed her cloak."

"And the homing beacon's still on Belial's ship, while Belial just took Casey over to meet the boss and make a good impression," O'Neill said. "And look now, all of the Ha'tak ships in Ba'al's fleet are all launching Alkesh ships."

"Most likely to land ground forces to assault Lord Yu's base on Bracca," Teal'c said.

"What will we do, Colonel?" Io'tan said in a panic. "We will raise suspicion if we do not launch any ships!"

O'Neill turned to her and said, "But you will, Io'tan. The Hak'tyl will launch one Alkesh ship right now."

Perplexed, she stared at him. "You wish us to commit our Jaffa to the battle?"

"No," O'Neill replied. "Because SG-1 will be aboard that Alkesh."

"Colonel O'Neill!" a familiar voice called from across the peltac.

O'Neill turned and saw Char'el walk over to them. Dressed in full Jaffa battle gear, he was followed by a very angry Fraiser. "Hey, Char'el, what's up?"

"I wish to help you," Char'el said.

"Sir, I must protest!" Fraiser told him. "Char'el still needs plenty of bed rest!"

"I am fine," Char'el insisted.

Despite his assurance to the contrary, Char'el did appear to be very sweaty, and he stood very unevenly--yet O'Neill realized that having a Jaffa with the Netian Empire seal on his forehead along for the ride could very well increase the chances of success for his plan.

"Can you pilot an Alkesh?" O'Neill asked him.

"Yes," Char'el said firmly.

"Then you're with us. Doctor, I'm glad you're here. I was just about to call for you. Come along with us."

"Welcome, brother," Teal'c said, as he gave Char'el a firm handshake. "I look forward to going into combat with you once more."

"Many thanks, Teal'c," an appreciative Char'el replied. "The honor is mine."

"An Alkesh is ready and waiting for you in the main hanger deck," Io'tan called.

"Thank you, Io'tan," O'Neill told her. "When we're gone, if you see a chance to get away, take it. Don't wait for us."

Io'tan nodded. "Understood. Good luck, Colonel…whatever it is you are about to do."

"Come along, kids," O'Neill called to the gang. "Time's a-wasting."

As they strolled down the hallway towards the lift, Daniel said, "Um, Jack?"

"Yes, Daniel?"

"What is it, exactly, that we're going to do?"

"If all goes well, we'll sneak aboard Ba'al's ship and rescue Casey," O'Neill replied. "And, if we're really lucky, maybe we can kill Ba'al, too."

"Jeez, you're really aiming high," Olivia said with a grin, "aren't you?"

"With Char'el piloting the ship, we may well be able to sneak aboard," Sam said, with a hopeful little smile. It took all O'Neill had just to keep from kissing those lovely lips of hers.

"The problem is getting back _off _the ship," an anxious Satterfield said.

"One problem at a time, Grace," Hailey said, as she playfully punched Satterfield in the shoulder. "After all, this is why we joined SG-1 in the first place, right? To solve the really _big_ problems!"

They all got aboard the lift, and O'Neill realized that Daniel was crowding him. "Something wrong, Daniel?"

"Does it show?" he asked sarcastically. "Um, just before you said 'If all goes well…' And I was just wondering: what happens if it _doesn't_ go well?"

O'Neill just shrugged. "Well then, Daniel, this will turn out to be the shortest rescue mission in military history…."

**To Be Continued....**


	7. Chapter 7

_I'd like to thank those of you who added either this story, or me, to your favorite/alert lists._

**Stargate: SVU**

**Chapter Seven**

Despite the fact that Sgt. Emmaus, who brought up the rear, laid down a withering suppressing fire with the SAW, they just kept coming.

Sheppard, who remained behind with her, halted to help spray bullets at the charging Anubis soldiers. He watched, with a mixture of awe and horror, as the bullets from his P90 tore up the face of one of the dog-faced monsters. He was grimly satisfied to see it fall--only to feel a cold chill when the bastard rose up and came right at him again. Sheppard's eyes grew wide when the very same Anubis soldier raised his hands, and a cobalt spark of energy flew out from its fingers, straight at him.

Sheppard and Emmaus both ducked behind a tree as the blue energy pulse shot harmlessly past them. "You want to play rough, huh?" Sheppard harshly whispered, as he pulled out a grenade. "Then suck on this…."

Pulling the pin, he tossed it right into the path of an oncoming group of Anubis soldiers. It exploded just as he took cover once more behind the tree, the shrapnel form the grenade ripping out splinters of wood and raining them down around him and Emmaus.

He grabbed the Marine by the arm. "C'mon, while they're regrouping from the grenade, let's go!"

They both ran for their lives down the pathway where Jacob had just led McKay and Beckett. Sheppard risked a look over his shoulder, and was stunned to see the grenade had merely slowed down the Anubis troops--one of whom was casually reattaching his severed arm to the stump of his shoulder, while another roared at them in anger with half its face blown away.

"That damn ship had better be near by," Sheppard said as they ran down the path. "Because these guys are relentless!"

"The tide of the battle has defiantly turned against us, sir," Emmaus said.

Sheppard shook his head. "This was never a battle, Sergeant. This is a hunt, and we're the prey!"

Sheppard and Emmaus both stopped suddenly when they saw Jacob, McKay and Beckett all standing forlornly in the pathway ahead of them. There was a column of black smoke that rose into the air.

"Jacob, what is it?" Sheppard whispered.

Jacob just pointed solemnly at the small clearing ahead of them. "They got my ride."

Sheppard angrily shook his head when he saw more Anubis troops had surrounded the smoldering remains of Jacob's Teltac ship. A group of them had broken off form the main body and were now heading into the woods, directly towards them.

"Damn it," Sheppard muttered. The realization struck him that they were now being closed in on all sides by the clones, and they were fast running out of options. Sheppard could see it in all of their faces; Jacob, Emmaus, McKay and Beckett all knew they were trapped. "Emmaus, how many grenades you have left?"

"None, sir."

"Yeah, I'm out, too."

Sheppard could hear the group of Anubis clones whom they had just run from were now getting closer just behind him. The woods surrounding them were alive with their howls and grunting. Sheppard exchanged a forbidding look with Jacob.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted," Jacob said evenly.

"It sounds like they're getting closer," Beckett said nervously. "On all sides, now!"

"What do we do?" McKay asked in a panic. "What do we do?"

"Form a circle, facing outwards," Sheppard ordered. "We shoot down as many of the bastards as we can. Hell, maybe we'll scare them off."

Yet from the look on Jacob's face, Sheppard knew the Tok'ra didn't believe a word he said. Yet Jacob kept quiet for McKay and Beckett's sake, for they both appeared to take some comfort in Sheppard's brave words.

"Doctor Beckett--here," Emmaus said, as she gave him a Berretta handgun. "Are you rated for this?"

Beckett stared at her, uncomprehending. "Rated?"

"That's ok," Sheppard told him. "Just point the gun at the bad guys, and pull the trigger. Don't actually fire until you see them."

As they all formed a tight circle, facing outwards, McKay--who anxiously gripped his zat gun--said, "Um, w-we're not getting out of this, are we?"

"You never know, Rodney," Sheppard said, as he patiently waited with his P90 at the ready for their enemy to appear. "We just might get lucky."

"But just one of these guys nearly wiped out SG-1," McKay said frantically. "We're facing an entire army of them, now!"

"Then I guess we're screwed," Jacob said calmly. Then he added, "Oh, hell…."

"What is it?" Sheppard asked.

"I wish I could have seen my daughter one last time," Jacob said sadly. "It would have been nice to have given Sam one more hug, you know?"

Sheppard nodded. "I know what you mean. I was just speaking to my girlfriend not an hour ago. All I can think about now is how I should have kissed her, appearances be damned."

The foliage around them began to shake with the movement of the approaching Anubis troops.

"Here they come," Emmaus said, her voice as cold as steel. She slowly raised her SAW. "Major, it's been an extreme pleasure."

"Same here, Sergeant," Sheppard replied. "And happy landings in the afterlife, whatever it winds up being. That goes for everybody."

Emmaus just chuckled. "If we both wind up in hell, sir, look me up. I'll help you take over the place. I hear the devil's a real pussy."

That made Sheppard laugh. "A Marine to the bitter end, huh?"

Emmaus grinned from behind her SAW. "Semper fi, sir."

Sheppard flinched when he saw a several pairs of hands raise above the dense foliage in front of them. The hands, which belonged to the clones, began to glow a bright blue as they prepared to fire a salvo of that cobalt energy right at them.

"Son of a bitch, they're not attacking; they're just gonna shoot us down," Sheppard muttered. "Everybody open fire! Just cut loose with everything you've got!"

Emmaus' SAW roared alongside Sheppard's P90 as they sprayed bullets into the foliage, sweeping aside the plant life in front of them. Sheppard's ears rang as he kept firing until his clip was empty. Emmaus' SAW also ran dry, and she dropped her weapon long enough to stare in wide-eyed astonishment at the sight before them.

The Anubis clones, their torsos riddled with bullets, still stood right where they were, the cobalt glow of energy within their hands increasing in intensity.

"Oh, damn…." Sheppard said.

"_What_?!" McKay said fearfully, as he turned around. "What's happening?!"

"This is gonna hurt," Sheppard replied, just before the Anubis clones fired their volley of blue energy right at them.

In the seconds just before he was hit, Sheppard calmly thought, 'Elizabeth, wherever you are, know that I love you, always….'

**SG1: SVU**

Casey Novak kept struggling feebly on the floor, despite the fact that Lord Belial had further ordered her to be wrapped up in a large sack. As he watched her, with the tightly wound sack that covered her body looking like a cocoon, Belial realized that he had to give the Tauri woman some credit; for although she was securely contained within the sack from head to toe--in addition to her being tied and gagged underneath--Casey still tried to fight back as best she could.

'It is easy to underestimate the Tauri, for they appear so pitiful,' Belial realized. Just like now, for instance--it would be easy to laugh at the antics of the struggling Casey Novak. And yet that would be a big mistake; for to laugh at Casey Novak would be to ignore the fact that she was a tenacious fighter. Perhaps this was the same mistake that Her Lord Empress Neith herself had made; the very mistake that ultimately cost Neith her life: she had underestimated the Tauri as a whole.

'But not this time,' Belial swore. 'Once she returned, Her Lord Empress Neith will not misjudge the Tauri--for I shall see to it myself. I and my Sons Of Darkness owe it to her. We owe everything to Neith.'

Her Lord Empress Neith had once saved Belial and his Sons Of Darkness from being slaughtered on their home planet many years ago. Belial had been betrayed by his own people, who had become ungrateful for the gift of leadership that he and his Sons Of Darkness had bestowed upon them. The new golden age of enlightenment that Belial had brought to his people was well worth whatever sacrifices he and his people had to endure. Yet his people had rebelled, thinking his regime, complete with its technological advances, to be too "extreme," and had stormed his castle in an overwhelming fury. Belial and his Sons Of Darkness would have been killed that day had it not been for Her Lord Empress Neith, who swept down from the skies like the goddess that she truly was and wiped out all resistance to Belial's regime within seconds.

The power she wielded was startling--and enthralling--to behold. She flattened all cities, exterminated all life, save for Belial and his Sons. And it was not just the technological power that Neith had at her command that Belial had marveled at, but her own personal charisma, as well. Her Lord Empress Neith was a force of nature, and when she told Belial that he and his Sons Of Darkness now owed her a life debt, they all swore their allegiance to serve her now and forever.

'Forever,' Belial thought. 'Which means even beyond death.'

Belial glanced away from the struggling Casey, and gazed at Odeon, the favored Son who had volunteered to wear the special ribbon device on his arm--the ribbon device which contained the very essence of Her Lord Empress Neith. It would be by Odeon's very hand that their mighty Empress would return, and this act will be his last in this life.

"We are entering the hanger bay now," the pilot of the Alkesh they rode in stated over the intercom. "At least three minutes until departure from ship."

Belial walked over to Odeon and firmly grasped his shoulders. "Are you prepared, my brother?"

"I am prepared, my Lord Belial," Odeon replied with the stately grace of one who has accepted his fate. "If it takes my life to bring back Her Lord Empress Neith, then I offer it freely."

Belial nodded with approval. "Your name shall ring down through the centuries among those of the Netian Empire's greatest heroes, Odeon. Keep the ribbon device well covered within your robe, my brother, for they will most assuredly search us for weapons."

"But, Lord, Belial, surely the ribbon device will be picked up on a scan?" Odeon anxiously asked.

"No. Because it is not a standard weapon, my brother; it gives out a much different reading--which is to say, none at all."

Odeon still looked worried. "They could strip search us, my Lord."

"We place ourselves entirely in the hands of Her Lord Empress Neith, my brother. If we are prevented from completing our task, then it is because she does not wish to return to our realm. And, as acolytes of the Sons Of Darkness, we must all accept this fate--with our lives, if need be."

That appeared to settle Odeon's nerves. Belial knew full well that the youngster was not afraid to die; Odeon's greatest fear was not completing the mission that he had so selflessly volunteered for.

Their Alkesh landed with a resounding thud on the deck in the hanger bay of the Abomination's Ha'tak. 'Soon,' Belial told himself. 'The moment of truth will be very soon, now.'

The doorway to their right split open, with the bottom half becoming a ramp. Belial used a hand gesture to order Anta, one of the other brothers, to pick up and carry the still struggling Casey. As they descended the ramp and emerged onto the hanger deck, the sight that greeted Belial was so joyous that it took all the self control he had to keep from laughing out loud with delight.

A Jaffa warrior stood regarding them with a suspicious look. Yet, surrounding him were none other than a squad of clones that were made from Belial's golem, Anubis--whom he had once given to Neith as a gift many years ago. Despite Belial's assurances that Anubis was perfectly safe, Her Lord Empress was still unsettled with the golem's invincibility and ordered it to be placed in permanent storage in stasis. Apparently having discovered Anubis, the abomination known as Ba'al had foolishly cloned an army from him. Belial took this to be a most excellent sign that Her Lord Empress Neith was ready to return today. All that remained was for the final piece of this plan to be in place.

The Jaffa, who bore the mark of Ba'al on his forehead, had scanned them all with a device. Belial had ordered his Sons Of Darkness not to bring any weapons with them. Yet the Jaffa still did not look pleased. He rudely strode in-between the Sons Of Darkness and commanded Anta, who had carried the bound Casey, to put her down on the floor.

Belial watched as the Jaffa undid the sack wrapping just enough to reveal Casey's face. She angrily stared up at him, her mouth stuffed with the gag, while the Jaffa ran his scanner over her several times. He then pulled down her gag and said, "Who are you?"

"Who are _you_?" Casey angrily shot back.

Once again, Belial marveled at the Tauri woman's ferocity, even in the face of great adversity. "She is a gift for His Lord Emperor Ba'al," Belial explained.

However, even after Casey was cleared of weapons by his device, the damnable Jaffa still wasn't satisfied. He came over to Belial and stared suspiciously up and down at his cloak. "What do you have under there?"

Belial, trying out a hunch, decided to tackle the problem head on. "Nothing! Shall we undress for you?" he gaily offered, as he began to remove his robe. "I should enjoy taking off my--"

"No, stop!" the Jaffa quickly said with a repulsed look on his face. "That will be enough. Come with us."

Belial and his Sons Of Darkness were led up to the command suite of the Ha'tak. Once they entered the throne room, he laid eyes on the Abomination for the first--and, hopefully last--time.

Ba'al sat in the largest throne, dressed in a golden robe which exposed his bare muscular chest. Beside him sat Qetesh, a dark haired beauty in a slinky dress who eyed Belial warily. Standing next to her was a bored male slave who did his level best to remain awake. And then Belial's eyes went to the creature who knelt on the floor by Ba'al's side.

Oh, she was so lovely…and so young! The slave woman meekly regarded him with eyes that contained a mixture of fear and fascination. The final piece of this plan had indeed fallen into place. Now it was in the hands of the almighty spirit of Neith herself.

"They have all been checked, my Lord Emperor," the Jaffa said.

"Thank you, Mar'ek," Ba'al said, staring at Belial. "Welcome, Lord Belial."

Belial made a show of bowing before the abomination. "My Lord Emperor, may I present your gift?"

He gestured to Anta, who brought forward the bundled-up Casey. He placed her on the floor, then tugged firmly at one end of the sack--this caused the bound and helpless Casey to roll out onto the floor right in front of Ba'al's feet.

For his part, Ba'al was most interested in the captured Tauri woman--so much so that he rose from his throne and stood over the writhing Casey with a smile. "Very nice," he commented. "A rather handsome woman."

Belial glanced over at Odeon, who nodded back. As Belial had planned, Odeon had used the diversion to move into position and was now ready.

"Will she be another tart to add to your little harem?" Qetesh muttered with disgust, as she gave the bound Casey a hateful glare.

"Now, my brother," Belial said gently.

Odeon raised his hand and fired the specially designed ribbon device. The white hot blast of energy shot out from his palm, across the throne area--

--and straight into Mila.

The young slave girl's screams of agony faded as her body twitched and convulsed under the steady blast of the ribbon device.

"STOP HIM!" Ba'al roared.

Belial turned towards the Anubis clones, who all charged at him and Odeon, and firmly uttered a single word. "Stop."

The Anubis clones all flinched as they halted their advance. Mar'ek, who suddenly found himself charging forward by himself, also stopped and looked back with annoyance at his insubordinate troops.

"Kill him," Belial ordered the clones, "then secure the room."

Mar'ek barely had time to react as several of the clones grabbed him and literally tore him from limb to limb.

Belial turned and saw that Odeon was finished. Having used his own life force to power the ribbon device, the young acolyte now lay on the floor, dead. "You shall be remembered, my brother," he said softly, "for all time."

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?"

Belial was pleased to see that his Sons Of Darkness had already sprung into action by grabbing the abomination and his mate. His brothers had hauled them from their thrones and held them at bay with knives to their throats. "Do not kill them," Belial ordered. "I want them to see this. I want them to see everything."

"See what?" Ba'al asked, with an incredulous look. "Your assassination failed, Lord Belial, and now you shall--"

"Wait," the slave girl known as Mila suddenly said, as she stood unsteady on her feet.

Belial stared intensely at her. Things could still go wrong; although Neith's original human host appeared to have been correctly revived in the cloning chamber, that did not mean that the Goa'uld within had also been perfectly recreated as well. Now was the most crucial time.

"Who are you?" Belial gently asked Mila.

Mila stared at him. And then her eyes flashed powerfully, indicating that the Goa'uld within had indeed been revived in every sense of the word.

"I am all that has been, that is, and that will be," she said. And as she spoke, her body took on a more regal bearing. "No mortal has yet been able to lift the veil that covers Me."

She then turned to glare directly at Belial--and in that instant, he knew that she had finally returned.

"I am Neith," she firmly said, "the Lord Empress Of the Netian Empire."

"Oh, God," Casey dismally muttered, as she stared up in both shock and disbelief at the reborn Neith, "it just keeps getting worse, doesn't it?"

**SG-1: SUV**

"That is Ba'al's ship dead ahead," Char'el said, as he sat in the pilot's seat of the Alkesh.

Olivia noted that Janet always hovered near by the Jaffa, keeping a concerned eye on him. But while he wasn't completely healed so far, Char'el seemed to be doing ok.

"Turn right into it," Jack told him. "Head for the nearest hanger bay you can find."

"One problem, sir," Sam said, as she gazed out the main windows. "The Alkesh fleet that's been launched from the main invasion force are all headed for the planet. Won't we be attracting attention?"

When the console lit up, indicating an incoming message, Daniel nervously pointed it and said, "Uh, you mean, like that?"

Teal'c checked the readings on the console. "It is from Ba'al's vessel."

Jack bent down by Char'el. "Tell them we're suffering some kind of mechanical trouble, and we need to dock right away."

"They will know there is nothing wrong with this ship with a simple scan," Char'el informed him.

"Wait, wait," Jennifer abruptly said, as she ran over to a panel on the wall. She opened it and pulled out a few crystals. Once she did this, the lighting in the control room began to flicker on and off.

"Um," Olivia said, as she anxiously glanced up at the flickering lights. "I really hope you didn't shut off the life support just now."

"The lights _are_ a part of the life support," Jennifer said, as she held up the crystals. "I caused just enough damage for them to pick up on a scan, but not enough to screw us up."

"Good work, Lieutenant," Sam said with a smile.

"Just tell them you have a problem," Jack told Char'el, "but you're not sure what it is."

Char'el nodded. "Very well. But it would be wise if you all stayed out of range of the visual comm."

They stood back as Char'el called in his problem over the comm, which Olivia saw was a visual signal. Oddly, it sounded like the Jaffa on the other end was too busy with something to give Char'el his full attention. He muttered something quickly--and then Olivia could have sworn she saw a flash, like from an explosion, erupt from the screen just as the image cut out.

"We have clearance to land," Char'el said, with a puzzled frown. "But there appears to be something wrong aboard the Ha'tak."

"What?" Jack asked.

"I do not know," Char'el replied. "But something was not right on the other end of the line."

"It looked to me like they just had an explosion," Olivia said. She glanced at Char'el for confirmation. "Didn't it?"

He nodded. "It did."

"An explosion?" Grace repeated, looking stunned. "I wonder what's going on?"

"They're not under attack from the planet," Janet commented, as she gazed out the window.

"Whatever it is, it's all the more reason for us to get in there," Jack said thoughtfully. "I was hoping that the regular bustle of the hanger bay would be enough cover for us to sneak around--but this sounds like it'll be much better."

Olivia suppressed a shiver as their Alkesh entered the open maw of the hanger bay. It almost reminded her of being swallowed whole by a great beast, and for a moment she wondered what she was doing here. Not for the first time since joining SG-1 did Olivia feel as if she was way out of her league. While she willingly and happily took to her new adventures as a member of SG-1, Olivia--who still felt like she were just a regular kid from New York--oftentimes felt overwhelmed by the situations she was thrust into, such as now.

'But if we don't stop the Goa'uld out here, then they will soon be in New York,' Olivia grimly reminded herself. The mental image of enemy Jaffa storming the streets of New York City terrified her to no end, and was part of what kept Olivia going, despite her fears.

'Of course, this new life is not without its pleasures,' Olivia thought, as she gazed in appreciation at her teammates, who have all become her surrogate family this past year. And then she glanced warmly at Daniel, who had become so much more to her. The back of Olivia's neck tingled with relief as he gently and expertly rubbed it from the base of her skull down to the top of her back.

"You all right?" he asked with concern.

"I'm feeling much better, now," she replied with a broad grin. Daniel always seemed to know whenever Olivia needed a good neck massage. And he could make a five minute rub down on the nape of her neck feel as great as an hour spent on a spa massage table. "You've fortified me."

"Glad to be of help," he said, as they briefly kissed. "Please be careful in there."

'Looks like I finally meet Mr. Right, and here I am, always going into dangerous situations with him,' Olivia wryly thought. She affectionately squeezed his hand. "You too."

Char'el landed the Alkesh with a gentle thud. "We are…here…."

Olivia, along with Sam and Daniel, was in the process of gearing up to go outside when Char'el's uncertain tone stopped all three of them.

"What is it?" Sam asked Char'el.

Jack peered through the window--then, something startled him so much that he nearly pressed his face to the glass in shock. "Oh, God," Jack said, his voice filled with dread, "Oh, God, no…somebody please tell me I'm _not_ seeing this!"

"You are indeed, O'Neill," Teal'c said, as he gazed grimly out the window. Both Hailey and Satterfield were pressed up next to him, and the young lieutenants gazed out with horrified looks.

"Jeez, what now?" Olivia asked, as she, Daniel and Sam ran up to the main window.

She glanced outside, at the hanger deck that their ship just landed in, and what Olivia saw made her eyes grow wide. Lord Anubis, the invincible monster with the head of a jackal, casually strode past their vessel, as if on some errand. And, as if that wasn't enough of a shock, Olivia was further startled to see another Anubis walk right past him in the opposite direction. A third Anubis in the background picked up a large carton and effortlessly carried it away.

"Oh, sweet Jesus," Olivia muttered, a mixture of shock and terror filled her very being. Her hand instinctively sought Daniel's and found it.

Daniel, his eyes wide behind his glasses, said, "Um, yeah, it just keeps getting better, doesn't it?"

"They're all Anubis," Janet numbly said, as she glanced out at the hanger that was filled with a multitude of troops that looked like the lord of death. "Oh, boy…."

"I don't believe this!" Jack said, livid, as he turned away from the window and stalked around the control room.

"Actually, sir, we shouldn't be too surprised," Sam said. Although she looked just as taken aback as everyone else at this turn of events, Sam still held her composure. "We knew that Ba'al had Anubis' body contained in stasis. And that, out of all of the Goa'ulds, Ba'al was always the most scientifically inclined. We should have expected this."

"But to clone an army out of the most meanest, invincible son of a bitch around?!" Jack said, annoyed. "That's just cheating, Carter!"

"Assuming he did clone them," Daniel spoke up. "I mean, maybe Ba'al found an army of these guys lying around somewhere."

"How did he get them to obey him?" Jennifer asked. "The original Anubis wasn't exactly a team player."

"Yeah," Grace agreed. "He pretty much attacked anybody--and anything--in sight."

"Never mind how they got here," Jack said, ending the discussion. "The fact is they're here, and we now have to deal with them."

"Agreed," Teal'c said with a nod. "Although, an army comprised of Lord Anubis' invulnerability will make our task more difficult."

"We simply won't engage them in combat," Jack said. "We've snuck around on these Ha'taks enough of times in the past to have the experience to avoid them."

"And what if they're guarding Casey?" Olivia asked. "We won't be able to avoid them, then."

Jack held his hand up at her. "One insurmountable problem at a time, Liv."

"Oh, my God!" Janet cried, as she stared out the window. "Colonel, Sam, everybody! Get back over here, you need to see this!"

Olivia pressed herself up against the window with Sam and Daniel on either side of her. Olivia was stunned to see that an Alkesh that was parked to the side of them was offloading something. It was people. The Anubis soldiers were removing people who laid on stretchers.

"That's Major Sheppard," Jack said, gesturing to a man whom the Anubis troops carried past in a stretcher. "From SG-9."

Daniel pointed out the lone captured woman who was also being carried away on a stretcher. "But that's not Colleen."

"That is Sgt. Gail Emmaus, from SG-3," Teal'c said. "She trains with me from time to time in hand to hand combat."

"Carson!" Janet cried, as he was carried by. "What's he doing here?!"

Olivia gasped when she saw an unconscious Rodney McKay being carried past their window. "And there goes McKay, too."

"Are they dead?" Grace fearfully asked.

"If they were dead, then why bring the bodies back?" Jack replied. "No, chances are, they're just knocked out."

"Oh, no…." Sam said in a scared little voice, when a helpless Jacob Carter was being hauled by them. "Oh, dad…."

Jack placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get him back; we'll get them all back--the goal of this rescue mission has just been expanded, we're getting them all out of here. Is everybody in agreement?"

Olivia and her teammates all quickly nodded their assent.

"Char'el, you and Fraiser remain with the ship," Jack told him. "You'll guard our escape route. But if things should get too hairy for you, just blast your way out of here."

"What about the rest of you?" Janet asked with concern.

"If that should happen, then we'll figure something out, Fraiser. Just keep your radio open at all times."

Janet nodded. "Will do. Good luck to you all, and please be very careful!"

"Truer words never spoken," Jennifer muttered, as they all went down to the next level of their Alkesh.

Instead of going out through the main doors, Olivia noted that Jack chose a small hatchway that was in the floor. When they emerged from the ship, they were directly under it--and Olivia realized that this was Jack's plan all along, to use the ship itself as cover.

Following Jack's orders, given through hand gestures, they crossed the hanger bay by carefully using the parked vessels as cover. Once they got to the side exit--through which Teal'c indicated he saw Jacob and the others being taken--SG-1's progress was halted when they saw a pair of Anubis soldiers guarding the passageway.

SG-1 was pressed up against the side of a Teltac in a long, exposed line. Olivia's heart raced with fear as she wondered how they were going to get past these two. 'One of these bastards was hard enough to kill,' she anxiously thought. 'But now we've got to get past two of them?!'

Jack turned to Teal'c and whispered, "Grenades."

"An explosion will only draw attention to ourselves, O'Neill," the Jaffa whispered back.

"No choice," Jack replied. "We've got to get past--"

He was interrupted by a vast explosion that rumbled throughout the hanger, and for a moment, Olivia thought somebody within SG-1 had accidentally set off a grenade. But a quick look up and down the line showed that, whatever that explosion was, it didn't come from them.

When Daniel glanced at her with a perplexed look, Olivia just shrugged and mouthed the words: "Wasn't me."

Yet the unknown explosion drew the attention of the Anubis guards, who held their staff weapons at the ready as they charged off to see what it was.

Jack keyed his radio. "Fraiser, come in."

"Here, Colonel," she replied. "That explosion we heard--did you cause it?"

"No, and I was just about to ask you the same thing," Jack responded. "Just hang tight, Fraiser."

"Sir, wait, we see fighting over here," Janet reported. "Jaffa troops against the Anubis soldiers."

"Could it not be a combat drill?" Teal'c asked.

"No, they're using live fire. They're shooting each other up quite viciously here, Colonel--and the Anubis troops are winning."

"What the hell's going on, now?" Olivia wondered out loud.

"Rodger that, Fraiser. Just sit tight and keep your head down," Jack said into his radio. Then he turned to the rest of SG-1 and added, "C'mon, the passageway is unguarded. Let's not look a gift horse in the mouth. Get moving!"

Another explosion rocked the hanger bay as Olivia ran towards the exit with Daniel and the rest of SG-1. She wondered if they would be able to get back down here after rescuing Casey and the others--but then she stopping thinking about that as she took a page from Jack's rulebook, which basically stated 'one insurmountable problem at a time.'

Olivia had to admit that a more childish part of her was thrilled to be sneaking around the Ha'tak like this; yet she stopped short at seeing this situation as being some sort of game--because if they were caught, they would lose far more than just points on their score. With the situation devolving as fast as it was, if they were caught, SG-1 may well just be killed outright.

They entered the corridor with their guns drawn, and immediately halted when they saw an Anubis warrior giving chase to a trio of Jaffa, who kept shooting at him with their staff weapons even as they retreated. This occurred in a junction directly ahead of them.

"Sounds like the opposing side is hitting back hard," Grace commented, as she flinched from the sound of another explosion that reverberated through out the ship. "The guys on the planet are putting up a heck of a fight."

"But the troops that the Anubis warriors are fighting are those belonging to Ba'al," Teal'c pointed out. "That would suggest a coup attempt is in the works."

"Ball boy is being tossed out on his ass?" Jack said with a smile. "Couldn't have happened to a nicer Goa'uld."

But as they started to run down the corridor en mass, SG-1 was stopped in their tracks once more when a life-sized holograph appeared before them in the junction. It wasn't so much the holograph itself that stopped them, as it was the person whom it projected.

It was Neith.

"I have returned to take command of my empire once more," Neith intoned, her eyes flaring in the manner of the Goa'uld. "Those of you who accept me as your Lord Empress shall surrender yourselves immediately. All of those who dare to try to oppose me will shall be cut down like the animals they truly are. This will be your only warning: either serve me and live, or be hunted down and killed by my Anubis troops."

The message vanished in a flash of light. The shocked silence that followed was broken by an irritated Jack, who said, "You have got to be_ kidding_ me…."

**To Be Continued....**


	8. Chapter 8

_My thanks to Barbarossa Rotbart for his review. I'd also like to thank those of you who added me to your favorite/alert lists.  
_

**Stargate: SVU 3**

**Chapter Eight**

Her Lord Empress Neith stared harshly at the woman in the full-length mirror, and her reflection glared back at her. Her body looked perfect--in fact, it was almost too perfect. The scant slave girl outfit she wore left very little to the imagination, and as she inspected herself, Neith was pleased by the fact that her host body was now actually younger than when she originally took possession of it.

Lord Belial appeared behind her and gave a respectful bow. "May I ask my Lord Empress Neith a question?"

Neith turned to him and said, "If you have a question, Belial, just ask it."

Belial bowed again. "What is the last thing that my Lord Empress Neith remembers?"

Neith recalled going through the annoying process of having her mind scanned for the Lazarus device. She had to be strapped down to a table, and had found it to be such an irritating process that she was just about to call it off--until Neith abruptly found herself standing here, clad only in the scant garments of a slave girl.

When she told him this, Belial replied, "The Lazarus scan was twelve years ago, my Lord Empress."

As hard as she tried, Neith could not suppress the astonishment she felt at that moment. To her mind, the time she spent with the Lazarus device was just seconds ago--instead, Neith had discovered that she had lost twelve whole years.

"What happened, Belial?"

"It is all right, my Lord Emp--"

"No, it is not all right," she snapped at him. "I have just lost twelve years!"

"But the Netian Empire has you back in control," Belial said in a soothing tone. "You can now turn the empire away from its destructive path."

"What?" she said, shocked to hear that her mighty empire--which had taken her so long to build and flourish--had now fallen on hard times. Perhaps that was why, when she woke up just now, her host body was clad in slave garb. "Where's Mo'at? And Io'tan? And why am I dressed like a slave?"

"Mo'at is dead, killed in battle, and Io'tan has deserted you," Belial answered. "As to why you are dressed as a slave, that was the only way we could hide your host body after it finished growing in the cloning tank. We hid you in plain sight, as it were. The Abomination never even noticed that it was you."

Neith stared at him in puzzlement. "The Abomination?"

Belial gestured to a pair of Goa'ulds who were being restrained by his Sons Of Darkness. "His name is Ba'al, my Lord Empress, and he was the one who usurped your rightful throne."

"_You_ defeated Lord Battlemaster Amun in combat?" Neith asked Ba'al, slightly impressed.

Yet before Ba'al could even answer, Belial quickly said, "Actually, my Lord Empress, Lord Battlemaster Amun was killed by Mut, who assumed control of the empire upon his death."

"My idiot sister ruled the empire?!" Neith said with disbelief.

"Ever so briefly, until the forces of Ba'al seized Mount Tanis," Belial informed her.

"I'm not surprised you defeated Mut in combat," Neith said to Ba'al. "She could not win a game of checkers to save her life. Is she dead?"

Belial blinked his bug-like eyes momentarily. "We assume so, my Lord Empress. Mut has not been seen for many months."

"If she's still alive, then _I'll _hunt her down and kill her," Neith grumbled. "Anything else I need to know, Lord Belial?"

"The Anubis warriors are taking this ship back under your control as we speak, my Lord Empress Neith," Belial reported. "But it would be most helpful if perhaps you could make a fleet-wide announcement. That would go a long way to--"

He stopped speaking when Neith held up her hand. "Anubis warriors? Did I have a lapse in judgment and order clones made of that monstrosity?!"

"That was Ba'al's doing, my Lord Empress," Belial explained. "He created an army from the Anubis golem."

"An army of what, berserkers?" Neith asked with a laugh. "A rage-filled army of monsters who must be put down after every battle like rabid dogs?"

"Actually, no, my Lord Empress Neith," Ba'al spoke up. "I've managed to control the violent urges of the clones and make them professional soldiers who obey every order given to them--professional _invincible_ soldiers, who, I might humbly add, are now at _your_ command."

"Ba'al, what are you doing?" the female Goa'uld urgently said. "You can not be serious about siding with that bitch! Our Jaffa will take back--"

"Impertinent dogs!" Belial roared at them in anger. He gestured to the Sons Of Darkness. "Kill them, now!"

"Wait," Neith commanded, and the Sons of Darkness stayed their hand.

As she strode over to the captured Goa'ulds, Neith saw a young woman with long auburn hair sitting meekly on the floor. She was barefoot, and clad in just a skimpy loincloth, along with a basic wrap that covered her breasts. She sat uncomfortably with her hands bound behind her back and her ankles trussed together.

Neith stood over her and asked, "And who might _you_ be?"

"Casey Novak," the bound woman said submissively, "your most humble servant, my Lord Empress Neith."

"Good." Neith nodded in approval as she walked over to Ba'al. "At least someone here knows her place. And what of you, Ba'al? Where is _your_ place?"

"By your side, my Lord Empress Neith," he replied, with as much humbleness as Casey Novak.

"Ba'al?!" the female Goa'uld cried in shock and outrage. "How could you?!"  
"And why would I want a former enemy serving me?" Neith asked him, ignoring his screeching mate.

"Ah, but I was never truly your enemy," Ba'al said, with a slight smile. "You were already deceased when I took over the empire. And, had I not taken it over, who knows what damage Mut would have caused?"

"But what can you offer me now?"

"My technical and scientific expertise," Ba'al replied confidently. "Which matches, if not surpasses that of Lord Belial's."

"You insolent dog!" Belial angrily said.

"Well, he did manage to soothe the savage heart of Lord Anubis, did he not?" Neith asked Belial.

"Only the clones are obedient, my Lord Empress--and that is because they are auto-slaved to take orders from my voice," Belial said. "This was carried over from the original Lord Anubis golem, which is still kept in stasis."

"That is because the device I've created to control the clones must already be implanted from when they are embryos," Ba'al explained. "But, rest assured, my Lord Empress Neith, I have many more inventions that will be of big help to you."

Neith thought it over. The fact that the Anubis golem was auto-slaved to obey Belial's voice was a disturbingly fresh piece of news--one that Belial had never though to share with her. The Anubis clones would be her obedient army, loyal to her--but only for as long as Belial was loyal. That was far too much power for even one as faithful as Belial to have. Perhaps it would be wise for Neith to employ another scientifically-inclined mind to counter Belial, but Ba'al would still have to prove himself.

"I would need proof of your loyalty to me, Ba'al," Neith said.

He stared at her expectantly. "Name it."

Neith glanced at the female Goa'uld. "I want you to remove her Goa'uld from its host and bring it to me. When you have done this, then I will know I can trust you."

Ba'al instantly nodded his head. "Consider it done, my Lord Empress."

"WHAT?!" the female Goa'uld screeched. "BA'AL, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"

"Whatever I have to, my dear Qetesh," Ba'al replied with a sweet smile. "I do hope you understand."

"Take them to the nearest lab," Neith ordered the Sons Of Darkness, who dragged the squabbling couple from the room. "Belial, call Nacre. He can assist with--"

She ceased speaking when Belial shook his head. "The physician is also dead, killed by Mutt, my Lord Empress." Belial then pointed at the bound Casey Novak. "What shall we do with her, my Lord Empress?"

"Keep her, for now," Neith replied, as she glanced down at the skittish woman with bemusement. "It has been a while since I have had a pet. Have the slaves prepare her. In the meantime, prepare the communications, Belial. I shall make my announcement to the fleet now."

Belial bowed. "As you wish, my Lord Empress."

Then Neith paused when something occurred to her. "Belial. How did I die? I mean, before?"

"You were killed by SG-1, my Lord Empress."

"SG-1?" Neith said with a puzzled frown. "What is an SG-1?"

**SG-1: SVU**

O'Neill just couldn't believe his luck. It was bad enough that Lord Anubis, the unstoppable Energizer Bunny from hell, was cloned into an army, but now Neith was back!

'What is it with these Goa'ulds?' O'Neill wondered, as he led his team down a quiet corridor aboard what turned out to be Neith's command ship. 'Simply killing them isn't good enough, now? Do we have to drive a stake through their hearts and cut off their heads?'

Then he held up his hand in a fist, giving the command to halt. A very scary thought just occurred to him. He turned back to the huddled group and said, "Hey, did Neith see us just now?"

"It looked like it was a one-way, ship-wide message," Sam said. "She couldn't see us, sir."

"Most likely a fleet-wide message," Teal'c interjected. "Many of these Jaffa are still loyal to Ba'al."

O'Neill nodded. "Ok. Next question: how the hell did she come back?"

"Uh, maybe she got some tips on resurrection from Apophis?" Daniel lightly suggested.

O'Neill was about to respond to Daniel's lame comment with a few choice curse words when he was distracted by Teal'c, who stood guard near the edge of the junction that was in front of them. "O'Neill," Teal'c whispered urgently. "Someone approaches to your right."

O'Neill, Sam, and the others began to hold up their weapons--until Teal'c abruptly waved them down. "It is a girl; she is unarmed."

No sooner did he say that than a young woman appeared in front of them, looking no more than twenty at the most. Barefoot, she was clad in the most ridiculously skimpy outfit that O'Neill had ever seen. She paused, the Egyptian eyeliner she wore giving her eyes a raccoon-like appearance, and stared in horror at SG-1 as if they were demons from her worst nightmares.

"Hey there!" O'Neill said, pouring on the charm. "Say, did you just see a bunch of people being carried through here on stretchers?"

The girl, still staring fearfully at O'Neill, pointed in the direction whence she came. She let out a startled yelp when the corridor was rocked by an explosion. She looked like she was about to start running again--and while O'Neill really couldn't blame her, he didn't want her telling anybody they were here. Besides, O'Neill couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid; he didn't want her to get hurt running around by herself in this war zone.

"Hey, why don't you come along with us, huh?" O'Neill asked, as he reached out his hand to her.

Yet the girl shook her head as she warily backed away from him and Teal'c, who also tried to reach out to her. But this made her even more distrustful.

'Damn, it looks like she's about to run,' O'Neill thought.

He was just about to order Teal'c to just grab her when Olivia suddenly stepped forward and flashed one of her brilliant smiles at the girl. "Hi ya, sweetie! Wanna come with us, huh? C'mon," Olivia said, as she held out a hand to the girl, "we'll protect you. Come here, sweetie. It's all right, we won't hurt you…."

O'Neill was about to order Teal'c to grab the girl while she was distracted by Olivia. But to his surprise, the girl meekly took Olivia's hand.

"There we go," Olivia cooed, as she and Daniel welcomed the girl into their group. "This is Daniel, and I'm Olivia. That's Jennifer, and that's Grace."

Sam glanced at O'Neill with a surprised look of approval. "Damn, she's good…."

"Indeed," Teal'c said.

"Just goes to show that you can attract more flies with a velvet glove," O'Neill said, grinning.

His grin faded when Sam stared at him wide-eyed, as if he were insane--which was a look she gave him often these days. "Um, sir…."

"You know what I mean, Carter," O'Neill said with a heavy sigh. "Let's get this show back on the road."

With a nod, Teal'c raised his staff weapon as he and O'Neill once more took point and led SG-1 down the corridor that the girl had pointed out where their comrades were.

Behind him, Olivia asked, "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"Anka," the girl replied.

O'Neill glanced back with an amazed look. "Anka? Really? Like Paul Anka?"

"Ankra, Jack," Daniel corrected. "Her name is Ankra."

"Ankra, right," O'Neill muttered, as he and Teal'c continued to lead them down the corridor. The problem now for O'Neill was that Paul Anka's song, 'The Time Of Your Life' kept running through his head over and over again. As they came up on another junction, O'Neill glanced back at Ankra and asked, "Where to now?"

Yet Ankra just stared fearfully at him until Olivia gently repeated the question, as if translating for O'Neill. The girl whispered her response into Olivia's ear. "She says they were all left right here on the floor when the battles throughout the ship first erupted," Olivia told O'Neill. "She doesn't know what happened to them. Somebody might have came back and took them."

"Wonderful," O'Neill muttered, as he shot a questioning glance at Teal'c. "Got any ideas, T?"

"This is not a Ha'tak built by the Netian Empire, O'Neill," the Jaffa said. "Ba'al used one of his own ships for his command vessel."

O'Neill nodded. "Meaning we should know our way around one of these babies pretty good, having previously owned one for a while."

"The prison center is usually on the same level as the main hanger deck," Hailey said. When O'Neill shot her a surprised look, she sheepishly added, "I've been studying the design schematics of the Goa'uld Ha'tak attack ship in my spare time, sir."

"Doing homework when it's not assigned will definitely get you a gold star, Lieutenant," O'Neill said. He turned to Sam and the others. "It's a fair bet that the prison center is where they've been taken."

"And where they're being guarded by those dog-faced mothers," Olivia said dismally.

"One step at a time, Liv, remember?" O'Neill reminded her. "Let's just get there, first, and then we'll assess the situation."

"Besides, with all of the shooting going on, the Anubis troops might be too busy to keep guard on the prisoners," Satterfield said.

Olivia nodded. "Yeah, I didn't consider that, Grace."

"With the hanger at our backs, the prison center should be straight ahead of us, sir," Hailey said.

O'Neill glanced at Teal'c, who had been keeping an eye on the junction. When the burly Jaffa nodded that it was all clear, O'Neill said, "Ok, let's go."

SG-1, plus Ankra, started moving down the corridor. And as they got further into the ship, O'Neill couldn't shake the ominous feeling that built up within him. It was due to the fact that, so far, things were going very smoothly for them.

'But with our luck the way that it is, something really bad should happen any second now,' O'Neill grimly thought.

**SG-1: SVU**

'Something's wrong,' an anxious Elizabeth thought, as she strode down the hallways of Stargate Command. Her thoughts were of John, who missed his communications check-in over an hour ago. They had tried to dial the planet he was on, Bracca, only to discover that they could not make a connection.

"Another wormhole might be accessing the gate," Sgt. Harriman had told her.

"Which means they're in trouble?" Elizabeth had asked.

George spoke up just then. "Jacob has a ship on the planet. If they are denied access to the gate, they have another way off the planet."

But Elizabeth knew that, if they were denied access to the gate, then that would mean something really bad was happening. She was racked with terrifying visions of John and the others pinned down while being mercilessly shot at by enemy forces.

As co-commander of the SGC, Elizabeth knew she shouldn't play favorites with John. She was equally concerned for Rodney, Carson, Jacob and Gail, as well. But she just couldn't help but be extremely concerned for John's safety, because of the special place he held in her heart.

George told Harriman to give the Tok'ra a call, just to see if they heard anything about what was happening on Bracca. But before she could hear what they had to say, there was an urgent call from Bill Lee, who needed to see both her and George in his lab at once.

Although she was reluctant to leave the control room, Elizabeth agreed to see what Bill had wanted while George remained behind to wait for the reply--if any--from the Tok'ra.

When she arrived at the lab, Bill was hunched over a table in the lab. The glowing energy crystal that SG-1 had brought back was on it, and both Bill and Zelenka were gleefully huddled over it, looking for all the world like a pair of mad scientists from a potboiler thriller.

"Dr. Lee, you called?" she asked.

"Dr. Weir, yes!" Lee said.

Zelenka gestured at the glowing crystal. "This is simply amazing. I mean, the Naquadria alone was an incredible find…."

"Oh, the Naquadria will certainly yield some amazing results in an of itself," Bill said to him. "Of that, I have no doubt."

"But that will take some time to test, I mean, the experimentation process alone would be--"

Elizabeth, already short-tempered due to the growing problem on Bracca, waved her hand at them. "Boys--focus, please…."

"Oh, right, sorry!" Bill said. "Dr. Zelenka and I have just managed to adapt the ZPM so that it will work with all the systems of the Prometheus!"

Weir nodded, genuinely impressed. "Very good. How soon will it be ready?"

"It's ready right now," Zelenka said, bursting with pride. "We can hook it up anytime."

"Excellent," Elizabeth said. "General Hammond needs to hear this, since this is more within his purview than mine."

But just as she turned to use the phone on the wall, Elizabeth stopped when Hammond himself appeared in the doorway. "Oh, George, I was just about to call you. Doctors Lee and Zelenka have found a way to make the ZPM compatible with the systems of the Prometheus."

"Will the ship be fully operational?" George curtly asked the scientists.

"Totally!" Bill replied. "The ZPM has more than enough juice to run the entire ship in full-scale combat, if need be."

"Good, we may well need the Prometheus right now." George turned to Elizabeth and added, "We heard back from the Tok'ra. They're listening in on communications within the Goa'uld fleet over Bracca. Ba'al has just been deposed."

"Really?" Elizabeth said with shock. "By whom?"

"Her Lord Empress Neith."

Elizabeth was stunned. "Neith?! I thought she was dead!"

"Not anymore," George said grimly. "Not only is she back, but it would appear that she has taken control of the Netian Empire once more."

'Oh, God, John,' Elizabeth thought, when she realized that he was right in the middle of all of this, 'please be safe….'

**SG-1: SVU**

Once she had become Neith's 'pet' Casey had been taken into a garishly styled room by a group of male slaves who nervously chatted among themselves. They were all very hansome, muscular young men who wore even less clothing than she did: basically these Tarzan-style loincloths, which made Casey feel like a heroine in a 1940s jungle movie. Seeing this group of male slaves oddly gave Casey some satifiaction, for it was heartening for her to see that the Netian Empire treated men just as cheaply as it treated women.

What wasn't heartening was the fact that, after they'd untied her, Casey was stripped of her meager clothing and then dunked into a large, Jacuzzi-sized bath. Several of the male slaves got in the water with her, and--ignoring her angry screams of protest--all vigorously washed the struggling Casey as they would a dog.

Yet while she was subjected to this, Casey overheard them speaking anxiously about what would happen to them now that her Lord Empress Neith was back. They were so concerned for their future that the nude Casey, whom they energetically washed, was largely a minor distraction.

Once the bath was done, and she was dried (much to her annoyance, two of the men insisted on roughly hugging her with large towels), Casey was presented with a new set of clothes to put on. The new loincloth and top were a little better in quality from what she previously wore, and much cleaner, but they were just as scant.

After she put these on, Casey was then brought to an observation room, where she was made to sit in a chair with no back. She let out an irritated sigh as two of the men bound her hand and foot once more. The rope ran from her wrists behind her back, under the chair to her ankles, which pulled her bare feet back under the seat. Once more, she wasn't going anywhere.

The male slaves left her, still worriedly chattering about what they were going to do with Neith in charge--and as Casey listened to their voices fade, she realized that these guys almost sounded like a group of hysterical hens.

Casey gazed out the massive windows of the observation deck, and was awed at the sight of a multicolored nebula that hung in the blackness beyond her. 'So much beauty and wonder,' she thought, with a shake of her head, 'and instead of marveling at it, and exploring it, all we can do is kill each other in these vicious little power plays….'

Casey was startled out of her reverie when a female voice behind her said, "Oh, come, now, boys, don't tell me that that wasn't fun for _you_, as well!"

Casey glanced over her bare shoulder and saw the male slaves were escorting the former Lord Empress Qetesh to another chair right beside her. Qetesh, who was also barefoot and clad in a similar scant slave outfit as Casey's, smiled as the male slaves tied her to the chair in the same fashion. And like Casey's hair, Qetesh's raven black hair was also wet and slicked back from the bath that the slaves had given her.

"You know," Qetesh said with a slight smile, just as the men finished up binding her, "normally, I would _really_ enjoy a nice little tie up game like this. But you're making the knots a bit too tight…."

The man who had just bound her feet began to bow before her. "I am sorry, my Lord--"

"You fool!" the other slave yelled at him. "She is no longer Qetesh! Come, let us just leave them here."

Then it hit Casey. "Oh, my God, he did it! Ba'al removed your Goa'uld!"

"Yes…so much for true love among Goa'ulds, eh?" She smiled at Casey. "And good riddance to her! Although, I really must say that Qetesh had quite good taste in men. Your name's Casey, right?"

"Yes. Casey Novak."

"Pleased to meet you, Casey. I'd shake your hand--but, well…." She twisted her bound hands in a helpess gesture. "As you can see, we're both a little tied up at the moment."

"What do you suppose Neith wants with us?" Casey asked her.

She grew thoughtful. "I don't know, Casey. But what say you and I do everything we can to work on not finding out?"

"As in we try and escape?" For the first time in a long while, a smile crept across Casey's face. "I'd really like that. Say, what's your name?"

"Oh, sorry, I forgot," she replied, as she flashed a brilliant smile. "My name--my _real _name--is Vala Mal Doran."

**SG-1: SVU**

Lord Belial was aboard the peltac, overseeing the retaking of the ship, as well as the rest of the fleet, back under the proper command of Neith when Orthos, one of his acolytes, contacted him via comminications sphere.

"My Lord Belial," Orthos said. "There is a situation in the prison level that you and Her Lord Empress Neith should be made aware of."

"What is it?"

"A legion of Anubis troops have captured a group of Tauri on the surface of Bracca," Orthos said. "They had been brought aboard, but when the fighting broke out, the prisoners were left in a corridor still tied to their gurneys. I found them and brought them to the prison level."

This got Belial's full attention. "Are they SG-1?"

"I do not know, my Lord Belial. They are still all unconscious, and the Tauri all look alike to me, anyway."

"They are still secure?"

"Yes, my Lord Belial. Most of the troops in the prison level are busy fighting to take back the ship for Her Lord Empress Neith. But the Tauri prisoners are still secured to their gurneys, and are all further locked up within cells."

"Very well. Keep them there. I shall be right down." Belial switched off the communications sphere.

"What news, Belial?" a female voice inquired from behind him.

He spun to see Her Lord Empress Neith standing behind him, now clad in the proper, gracious clothing as befitting her godly status of ruler of the Netian Empire. As she spoke to him, her eyes were elsewhere, scanning the collection of screens on the wall that showed various views of the entire ship, both inside and out.

"The Anubis troops have captured a Tauri SG team on the surface of the planet, my Lord Empress," Belial said with a bow.

"Is it SG-1?" Neith asked, her eyes still scanning the screens.

"We are unsure. The Tauri have many SG teams in the field, my Lord Empress. I was just about to go down to the prison level myself."

Neith held up her hand. "Wait. Rewind the image on monitor twelve by five minutes and put it on the large screen."

Belial watched, stunned, as the image showed a large group of armed Tauri warriors making their way through a corridor. He then stared at Neith with renewed love and respect; in all of the chaos, that brief glimpse of an enemy squad somewhere in the bowls of their ship would have been ignored--but Neith's hunter's eyes caught sight of them.

"It would appear that a rescue attempt is being made," Neith said. "I shall come with you to the prison level, Belial--along with a legion of the Anubis troops. Let us give a proper welcome to the Tauri, shall we?"

"Yes, my Lord Empress," Belial said, as he gazed at her in awe. Bringing this great woman, this magnificent leader, back to the Netian Empire was truly the best thing he and the Sons Of Darkness have ever done.

**SG-1: SVU**

'Oh, won't you be oh-so-angry with me!' Janet thought, as she gazed lovingly at a photo of Cassie, her adopted daughter. 'Here I told you that this would just be a simple 'house call' assignment. And, instead, I find myself in the middle of a combat zone!'

And, from the sound of things outside the Alkesh, the battle in the hanger bay was only getting more ferocious. Char'el calmly sat in the pilot's seat while Janet sat cross-legged on the floor by bis leg. They had both agreed that it would be best for her to stay out of the way of the windows--lest she'd be noticed by unfriendly eyes.

"May I ask what you are viewing, Doctor?" Char'el asked.

"A picture of Cassie, my daughter," she replied, handing him the photo. "That's actually a few years old. She's much bigger, now. Much taller than me, in fact!"

Char'el smiled. "Forgive me, doctor…but _everyone_ is taller than you."

"Oh, nice! Real nice!" Janet said, in mock-annoyance, which made Char'el laugh. "You know, you Jaffa are all hulking--"

Janet stopped talking when she saw the humor instantly drain from Char'el's face as he stared at something through the window. "It would appear that we have attracted attention, Doctor."

Janet let out a yelp of surprise when an Anubis warrior abruptly appeared at the main windows. He had jumped up onto the nose of the ship and peered inside. And what he saw in there--namely the sight of Janet--made him roar with fury.

Janet quickly got to her feet as Char'el reached for his staff weapon. The Anubis warrior started to pound on the windows as it screeched in anger at them.

"Will the glass hold him?" Janet nervously asked.

"I do not know," Char'el said somberly. He kept his staff weapon at the ready.

Janet keyed the radio by her shoulder. "Fraiser to O'Neill, come in. Fraiser to O'Neill--come in, please!" Her eyes went wide when she realized there was no response on the other end. "Where could they be?"

**SG-1: SVU**

'Looks good,' Olivia thought, as she and the rest of SG-1 snuck into the prison level. The main hub receiving area, which had a massive circular console, was completely empty. 'Looks like everybody's out fighting.'

"Everybody fan out," Jack ordered. "Start searching the cells, quick!"

Olivia was happy to see that Ankra had stayed by her side as she and Daniel searched through the cells block on one end of the prison level. Olivia wondered if it would be ok to bring Ankra back to earth with them. As they ran down the hallway, they could see that the cells were all empty, right on down to the opposite end of the hallway, which was a dead end. Olivia grabbed Ankra's hand and pulled her along with them as they headed back for the central hub.

Yet, just before they reached the end of the hallway, Daniel abruptly grabbed Olivia's arm and roughly shoved both her and Ankra so that that were flat against the wall.

"What the--?" Olivia started to say.

Until Daniel slapped his hand over her mouth and gestured for her to be quiet. Then he pointed at something. Olivia's eyes went wide when she saw an Anubis warrior stride right by where they were pressed up against the wall. Two more warriors walked past, their backs turned towards them.

Daniel gently released Olivia's mouth as they watched a small army of the Anubis warriors slowly surrounded the central hub. Fortunately, there were no warriors standing directly in front of them--yet Olivia could not help but think about Jack, Sam, Teal'c, Jennifer and Grace. Were they all right? The answer came when she realized that the Anubis warriors were all facing in the direction that their comrades had gone, which was in the hallway opposite of the one they hid in.

Olivia was startled by the sounds of gunfire that erupted from the other hallway.

"Return fire," a familiar female voice commanded. "But take them all alive."

Olivia stared in horror at the sight of Neith, who stood regally behind the troops, with a black-robed figure by her side.

"Is that you, Neith?!" Jack defiantly shouted. "Nice of you to let us take a second shot at you! Hey, you mind standing out a little more in the open?"

Letting out a roar in unison, the Anubis troops all held up their hands and emitted the largest burst of blue energy that Olivia had ever seen. The twisting, flickering lightning bolt was both oddly beautiful and terrifying at the same time as it flailed itself straight into the hallway where Olivia and Daniel's friends were.

When Olivia reached for her gun, Daniel shoved her and Ankra into one of the empty cells.

"Daniel, what the hell are you doing?" Olivia demanded. "We've got to help them!"

"We will," Daniel said. "But we can either try and help them now, and get captured right along with them--or we can avoid capture now and be of even bigger help to them later. Think about it, Liv."

Ankra fearfully clung to Olivia's side as the intense blue flashing reflected on the walls all around them--and all Olivia could think of was the agony that Jack, Sam, Teal'c, Jennifer and Grace must be going through right now.

Giving in to her despair, Olivia hugged Ankra with one arm and buried her face on Daniel's shoulder. She could no longer bear to watch the crackling energy charge, knowing full well what it must be doing to their friends.

"Oh, God, Daniel," she softly cried against his shoulder. The three of them were huddled together in a tight group hug.

"I know," Daniel said grimly. "Believe me, Liv; I know exactly how you feel…."

**To be continued....**


	9. Chapter 9

**Stargate: SVU**

**Chapter Nine**

"Attention!"

Major Cameron Mitchell stood at attention in the briefing room with the rest of the 302 pilots. The new space fighter, a hybrid design born from reverse-engineering the Goa'uld death glider, was a smashing success. Thanks to the 302, Mitchell himself had seen a childhood dream come true every time he flew it into outer space. And here he'd always thought he would have to finish serving out his time in the Air Force before becoming an astronaut. His granny was right when she once told him: sometimes what you wish for may come a lot darn sooner than you'd expect, so be ready for it.

But while Mitchell's dream to conquer space had been realized, there was another dream he had ever since he'd first joined the Stargate Program: to command one of the SG teams. Being a space fighter pilot was a cool enough job, but what the SG teams did on a daily basis--especially SG-1--was something that Mitchell was extremely eager to try his hand at.

This was why he grew excited when General George Hammond walked into the briefing room with Colonel Newell, their commander. For all purposes, Hammond _was_ the SGC. He was the main man in charge, and the fact that he was here today could only mean one thing: there was big news regarding the Stargate Program.

"Ladies and gentlemen, at ease," Hammond told them, and the pilots all took their seats. "As F302 pilots, you people are the best of the best that the United States Air Force has to offer. The bar has been raised for each one of you, and you've been expected to reach that bar, and you all have done so in exemplary fashion."

After a slight pause, Hammond added, "That bar is being risen for all of you once more in the form of a major new threat. Her Lord Empress Neith has returned."

'Damn,' Mitchell thought, as the rest of the pilots chattered in shock and surprise around him. 'These Goa'uld are harder to kill than the Roadrunner!'

"We're not sure what Neith's intentions are," Hammond continued, after the chatter had died down, "but given that she's once tried to ignite a galaxy-wide war by using earth as the matchstick, it would be extremely prudent for us to step up our defenses. To that end, I am pleased to announce that the Prometheus Project is a go. Scientists working within the SGC have found a stable power source for the ship, and trial flights are already underway."

Mitchell shared a knowing smile with Captain David Koki, a fellow pilot. They had all originally trained to be a space fighter squadron that would be based on--and launched from--the Prometheus. And since the Prommie was now up and flying, they pretty much knew what would be coming next.

"You will all now begin extensive training for combat take off and landings on a space-based platform," Hammond told them. "You will start with computer and land-based simulations, first, and once the Prometheus is ready, you shall train aboard her. The sooner the Prometheus and her fighter squadrons are fully combat ready, the better." He paused once more. "You have all met the challenges that have been presented to you, and I have no doubt that you shall meet this one, as well. Good luck to all of you."

Mitchell and his fellow pilots all rose up once more when Hammond turned and left briskly. They sat back down when Colonel Newell began going over the basics of their newest flight training: to become a fighter squadron based aboard a spacecraft carrier.

"You think Neith will try and attack earth?" Koki asked Mitchell.

"Hell, son, she'd be crazy to try," Mitchell replied with a grin. "Because the Snakeskinners will be ready and waiting for her."

**SG-1: SVU**

Elizabeth let out a deep breath and tried to control her temper as best she could. The stargate was active, which enabled her to speak in real time to Dr. Fred Corbel, who was leading a scientific expedition into the research of a specific type of algae on a far off planet.

On the monitor, Corbel stood with Colonel Drumlin, the commander of SG-3, the SG team that provided protection for the expedition. Dr. Corbel pouted like an angry little boy. "I don't understand why we need to leave right away, Dr. Weir."

"Because, as I have explained to you, Dr. Corbel, Neith has returned to assume command of the Netian Empire--and thanks to this turn of events, we need the Marines of SG-3 back here at the SGC immediately."

"Well, then, fine," Corbel said, his mood lightening. "Colonel Drumlin and his team can go back, while my team and I remain here and continue our important work."

'And here we go again,' Elizabeth thought, with shake of her head. "We can't leave you out there all alone without protection, Dr. Corbel. With Neith running the Netian Empire once again, we just can't take that risk. We don't know where she will strike out at next. I'm afraid you will just have to abandon your research for now and come home--it's for your own safety."

Now Corbel shook his head in annoyance. "This is very improper, Dr. Weir. Colonel Drumlin and his people are free to return, if they wish, but I speak for all of my science team when I say that we shall remain here and continue our _very_ important work."

Taking as much of this insufferable little jerk as she could, Elizabeth angrily grabbed the monitor and glared into it. "Colonel Drumlin, you are to bring back _everyone_ in the expedition--no exceptions, understand? And if anybody gives you any lip about it, then feel free to place them under arrest! I don't care if they come back here bound and gagged, as long as they're _all_ here, safe and sound. Got it?"

The Marine, who had been standing impassively throughout Elizabeth's argument with Corbel, now grinned broadly at her. "Yes, ma'am!"

"I-I must say, Dr. Weir, I am shocked at your behavior," Corbel said, looking stunned. "When I first heard that you were put in co-command of the SGC, I was very pleased. I thought you would be a more rational voice. But now I see that you can be just as insensitive as General Hammond."

"Insensitive times call for insensitive measures, Dr. Corbel," Elizabeth curtly replied. "I'll be expecting to see you and your entire team here at the SGC within the hour."

She gestured to Walter to cut off the transmission, which he did. Then Elizabeth paused and softly asked, "What did you think, Walter? Too much?"

"Just perfect, Doctor," Walter replied with a thumbs up. "Exactly what the situation called for."

"Thanks," she said with a small smile. Usually it was George who acted like the big bad cop during moments like this, but he was currently away from the SGC, helping to get the Prometheus fighter squadrons sorted out. It will be good to have their own spacecraft carrier in action, along with the Marines of SG-3, just in case Neith decides to make another run at earth. Elizabeth only hoped that it would all be enough. They were still unable to reach the Asgard.

She was just about to walk back to her office when Walter said, "Doctor Weir? I'm afraid there's another problem."

"What is it?"

"It's SG-1, ma'am," he replied. "Like SG-9½, SG-1 is also way overdue on their communications check with us."

'Damn, just what we need, another SG team missing in action,' Elizabeth thought grimly. "As I recall, they went looking for Casey Novak, right?"

Walter nodded. "They left several hours ago--and, so far, they're well over an hour overdue in checking in with us."

"Hopefully their silence just means that they're busy on the hunt for Ms. Novak," Elizabeth said. "I mean, things can't just keep going from bad to worse around here, right?"

Walter merely gave her a solemn look. "This is Stargate Command, Ma'am. Things often go from bad to worst to 'oh my God' all the time. Don't worry," he added, when Elizabeth gave him a shocked look. "You're still new here; you'll get used to it."

**SG-1: SVU**

Char'el had about as much of this situation as he could take. The Jaffa sat in the pilot's seat of the Alkesh, watching as the two Anubis warriors continued to angrily pound on the window of their ship. Their actions had now attracted the attention of other troops in the hanger bay, who began to converge on their ship.

Char'el glanced at Dr. Fraiser, who frantically tried to reach SG-1 on her radio, only to fearfully shake her head. "They're not responding," she said, her eyes wide. "I don't know what happened!"  
It was at that moment that Char'el had made what was possibly the hardest decision in his life. He gestured at the co-pilot's seat next to him and said, "Doctor, have a seat and strap yourself in."

Fraiser quickly did as he said. When she was securely strapped in, Fraiser stared apprehensively at the furious Anubis warriors who blocked the window asked, "What are you going to do?"

"The only thing that I can do right now," Char'el solemnly replied. He powered up the ship and lifted off from the hanger deck. 'Casey, my dearest love,' he thought, 'forgive me. But I swear that I shall come back for you.'

With the Alkesh now hovering over the deck, Char'el then applied full power to the thrusters, and the ship blasted off into space. Luckily, they still did not close the hanger bay doors.

The two Anubis warriors remained pressed against the glass until they reached outer space--then they fell off, both still roaring soundlessly in the cold vacuum.

"We're leaving them," Fraiser said, her tone sad. "SG-1, Casey, all of them…."

"I am taking you back home to your daughter," Char'el firmly told her. He quickly prepped the ship for a fast jump into hyperspace. "And then we shall be back for Casey and the others. What is that Tauri expression? We live to fight another day."

**SG-1: SVU**

When Neith entered the observation room to check on her new pets, she was surprised to see one of them was out of her seat. The former Qetesh now lay on the floor by the side of her chair, her wrists and ankles still tied.

She looked up and gave Neith a sheepish smile. "This is really a very funny story. You see, I fell asleep, and when I woke up, here I was, on the floor! A bit awkward, but still very funny though, right?"  
Neith glanced over at Casey Novak, who still sat bound to her chair. Novak regarded Neith with a fearful respect in the way she held her head bowed. At least she knew the proper behavior for a slave.

Neith then glanced at Ba'al. The Goa'uld regarded this scene with a raised eyebrow and a look of disgust. If he still had any feelings for the former host of his lover, he did not show it. But any Goa'uld smart enough to switch sides as Ba'al did would also be smart enough not to reveal his true feelings.

Lord Belial stepped forward and gestured at the former Qetesh. "Shall I have her killed, my Lord Empress Neith?"

Neith, already growing tired of her antics, was about to answer in the positive--until something outside the observation room windows had caught her attention. It was an Alkesh ship. Having just blasted off from the hanger deck beneath them, it abruptly jumped into hyperspace.

"Who was that?" Belial wondered.  
"Perhaps comrades of the Tauri warriors whom we've just captured," Neith replied thoughtfully. "Either that, or they were Jaffa still loyal to Ba'al who were making their escape."

"If that is so, my Lord Empress Neith," Ba'al quickly said, "then they shall be hunted down and killed like the disrespectful dogs that they are."

"Well said, Ba'al," Neith replied with an approving smile. "But before we can even begin to hunt anyone down, I must consolidate my power--and there is only one place to do that. Lord Belial, give the order to abort the assault on Bracca. I want the fleet to return to Mount Tanis immediately."

**SG-1: SVU**

When Sam awoke, she found herself staring at the two men who meant the most in her life: Jack and her father.

"Hey, kiddo," her father said, smiling. He gave her a much-needed hug. "Welcome back."

"About time you woke up, sleepyhead," Jack said gruffly. "You and Satterfield are real late sleepers."

"Oh, whoa," Sam muttered, as they both gently helped her to sit up. She felt very dizzy, and suffered from double vision.

"Here, love," Carson Beckett said, as he bent down before her, "let's have a look at ya. How do you feel?"

"Getting better," she groggily replied. Someone, probably her father, had started to massage her neck and shoulders--and it felt very good. She gestured at the massage and added, "That's a big help."

"Courtesy of O'Neill's magic fingers," Jack said from behind her.

The fact that it was Jack who gave her the massage had surprised Sam, but in a pleasant way. She enjoyed it even more, now.

Beckett gently held Sam's head and stared critically into her eyes. "You suffering from double vision, Major?"

"Yeah, but it seems to be clearing up."

Beckett leaned back on his haunches and nodded. "Aye, just like the rest of us. Just stay off your feet for a wee bit--at least until the dizziness goes away." He then turned to Grace Satterfield, who also sat on the floor looking very dizzy. "The same goes for you, Lieutenant."

Satterfield, who looked as dazed as Sam felt, just nodded as she enjoyed a massage from Teal'c, who expertly rubbed her neck and shoulders.

"What do you think, T?" Jack said, as he continued to knead Sam's neck muscles. "Maybe we should start a massage business? O'Neill and Teal'c's Massage Spa? How does that sound?"

"The name does not suit me, O'Neill," Teal'c replied, with his customary staidness. "Might I suggest Teal'c and O'Neill's Massage Spa?"

This joke, delivered in Teal'c usual dry manner, made everyone in the cell erupt with laughter. Sam noted that a smiling Hailey stood by the wall with Sgt. Emmaus and Major Sheppard, who were both grinning.

And then there was Rodney McKay, who just nervously paced back and forth. "Oh, nice, real nice," he muttered. "We're all about to die a horrible death, and you guys are making jokes…."

"Is it entirely possible for you to just relax for five minutes?" Sheppard asked him with an annoyed tone.

McKay stared at him as if he were insane. "Relax? We've been captured by Her Lord Empress Neith--newly risen from the dead--and the people who've come to rescue us have themselves been captured! We are so _screwed_ right now, and you want me to relax?!"

"Or not…." Jack said casually. "Whatever…."

His comment struck her as being so funny that it took everything Sam had to keep bursting out laughing. Then, as she glanced down at her boots, something occurred to her. "Hey, they didn't strip us…."

Her father gave her an odd look. "Uh, no, Sam, they didn't."

Jack gave her a confused sideways glance. "Did you _want_ them to?"

His response almost started her laughing once more. "No, sir. It's just that, when Liv and I were captured on Mount Tanis, they removed--"

Sam stopped speaking when she realized something with a start. "Hey, wait a minute, where's Liv and Daniel?"

"We do not know, Major Carter," Teal'c said grimly.

"They weren't with you when the Anubis soldiers brought you in," Sheppard added.

"Also, the slave girl isn't here, too," Jack said. "Uh, what's her name again? Anka?"

"A slave girl named Anka?" Sheppard said with a frown. "Really? Is she related to Paul Anka by any chance?"

"Ankra, sir," Sam told Jack with a weary sigh. "Her name is Ankra."

"With any luck, they might have escaped in the Alkesh with Char'el and Dr. Fraiser," Hailey said hopefully.

'Daniel, Liv,' Sam anxiously thought. 'Wherever you are, I really hope you guys are in much better shape than we are right now….'

"Who the hell is Paul Anka, anyway?" Satterfield suddenly blurted out.

**SG-1: SVU**

"Well, this sucks," Olivia said with a heavy sigh.

"They're still there?" Daniel asked.

Olivia nodded as she moved away from the open doorway of the empty cell that they were hiding in. "Three of the Anubis guys are standing guard in the hub. And we can't do anything with them right there. Damn it, for all we know, the rest of the gang could be just on the other side of the wall."

"Yeah, uh…." Daniel said, as he stared at the wall.

Olivia knew that look; Daniel was such a brainiac that he would often get distracted right in the middle of a sentence. It normally was annoying, especially whenever they were having an intimate conversation during a date, but Olivia hoped that he paused this time because he had an idea.

It turned out that he did. "You know, whenever we were captured, Sam was always famous for pulling open a panel on the wall," Daniel said, as he got up to inspect the panels on the cell wall. "I don't know if any of these open up, but…."

Olivia stared at him expectantly. "But what? What will happen when we open them?"

Daniel gave a helpless shrug. "Uh, don't know, really. I mean, Sam was always the expert on knowing which of these panels did what."

"If we messed with them, we could either electrocute ourselves," Olivia warned. "Or wind up locking ourselves in here."

When Ankra let out a whimper, Olivia turned to her and saw that the girl looked very nervous--more so than usual. "We should go," Ankra said, standing anxiously by the doorway. "This is not a good place to be."

"You know, she's got a point," Daniel said. "An empty jail cell is probably not the best place for us to hide out. Somebody can just flip a switch, just for the hell of it, and we'll become instant prisoners."

Olivia stared at Ankra. "Do you have a better place for us to hide, sweetie?"

Ankra emphatically nodded her head. "The slave quarters. It is safe. I can easily hide you there."

Olivia gave Daniel a questioning look. "You wanna go for it? I mean, since we know exactly where the others are being kept, it's just a matter of waiting it out for the right time to try and spring them."

"And how do we get past the guard doggies in the hub out there?" Daniel asked. "Nothing short of a grenade even slows them down--and neither of us is packing anything like that."

That gave Olivia pause. "You know, that reminds me. I'm still not as well-armed as I should be for these missions. I'd like for you to teach me how to use a P90."

Daniel stared at her strangely. "Um, right now?"

"Of course not, Daniel," she said, resisting the urge to hit him. "Don't be dense. You can teach me when--oh wow…." Olivia was interrupted by the uneasy sensation of her stomach doing a back flip in her torso. "Did we just jump into hyperspace?"

"Yeah, feels like it," Daniel confirmed. "Look, I'll be glad to show you how to use a P90--when and if we survive the current mess we're in. But how about we try and get _out of _this mess, first? Which means somehow getting past the guards."

That gave Olivia an idea. "Ankra, can you see if the guards are either standing in front of, or behind, the main console in the hub?"

Ankra carefully glanced out the door. Then she looked back and said, "They are all well behind the console."

"Yep, there's our ticket," Olivia said, as she began to secure whatever loose items she had on her person.

"What are you doing?" Daniel asked.

"We're gonna sneak out behind the console, on our hands and knees," Olivia explained. "If we're quiet enough, they'll never see us."

"But the Anubis warriors are basically men with the heads of dogs," Daniel shot back. "Won't they smell us?"

Olvia helplessly shrugged. "Not if we're quick enough, I guess…I don't know, Daniel! I'm doing the best I can, here. If you've got a better idea, then please share it with us."

"No, no, never mind me," Daniel muttered, as he quickly secured whatever loose items he had on his person. "I'm just trying to cover all the bases, just like Jack would do."

"If the guards still spot us, then we'll deal with it," Olivia told him. "It's like what Jack always says, one step at a time, right?"

When Daniel stopped to glare at her warily for a moment, a puzzled Olivia said, "What?"

"I don't know what's more frightening," he said, "the fact that we're about to reenact a scene on our hands and knees from The Great Escape--only _without_ the dirt--or the fact that you're now quoting Jack at me."

They snuck down the hallway that led to the hub, hugging the wall. Once they reached the end, they crouched down and quickly ducked behind the console. Olivia was terrified to see one of the Anubis warriors had stood directly over her, right behind the console. She paused to clutch her holstered gun--until she realized that shooting nine millimeter bullets at one of these things was about the same as tickling it.

'Keep moving,' Olivia told herself. 'Just keep moving….'

Crawling on your hand and knees may not be the most dignified way to exit a room, but it worked for Olivia, Daniel and Ankra. Once they were safely in the hallway--and after making sure there was nobody else around, first--they got back onto their feet.

"Come this way," Ankra eagerly said, as she began to run down the empty corridor. "It is not far."

"Right behind you, sweetie," Olivia said, as she and Daniel ran right behind her. Olivia glanced at him and added, "So far, so good…."

"Yeah," Daniel muttered, with a wary glance over his shoulder. "So far…."

**SG-1: SVU**

"Oh, God," Casey said with a weary sigh, "how do I get into these positions?"

After a scary few minutes, Her Lord Empress Neith and her entourage had left Casey and Vala alone on the observation deck. Shortly afterwards, the ship had jumped into hyperspace, which meant they were headed back towards the last place in the universe where Casey wanted to go: Mount Tanis.

Vala still lay on the floor, her wrists and ankles still tied around her chair. She had glanced up at Casey and said, "A little help, here?"

Casey, who sat similarly tied to her backless chair with her wrists trussed to her ankles, decided that the only way to reach Vala was to do the same thing she had done: just dive over the side of the chair.

Yet when she did this, by slowly sliding over to the edge of the chair, Casey had misjudged just how high off the ground the chair was. When she sailed over the side, unable to brace her fall with her tied hands, Casey inadvertently let out a loud "WHOOP!"

She landed directly on top of Vala, who let out an annoyed grunt before she said, "Why don't you scream again, Casey--perhaps a little louder this time? I don't think the lower half of the ship heard you!"

"Give me a damn break," Casey said through clenched teeth. "I'm doing the best I can!"

"I'm sure that's what they'll write on your tombstone. Would you mind getting off of me?"

"Believe me, I'm trying," Casey said, as she wiggled her bound body back up against her chair. The rope that hogtied her wrists to her ankles was looped behind the solid leg of the chair. Casey pressed her fingers under the edge of the broad leg and raised the leg off the floor.

She had meant to raise the chair only high enough to slip her bonds free of it--however, Casey misjudged the weight of the chair. Once she raised it off one leg, it lost balance and flipped over on its side, where it crashed to the floor with a loud banging noise.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you'd want to be recaptured," Vala said, glaring across from her on the floor.

Casey just let out a deep breath. "You know, you're really beginning to make me miss Qetesh."

"Oh, that's just so _sweet_ of you to say! Feel better, now?" Vala asked. "You think you can manage rolling over with your back facing me?"

Casey grunted as she did so. Despite the fact that she was still hogtied, this was a relatively simple thing to do, since she was no longer secured to the chair--although it was a bother to arrange her wrists so that they were within the reach of Vala's mouth. Once they were, Vala began picking at the knot that bound Casey's hands with her teeth.

As Casey impatiently waiting for her hands to be freed, a funny thought occurred to her. "At least doing this job keeps you quiet for a while."

Casey flinched when Vala unexpectedly bit into her arm. "Ow! Watch it!"

"Oh, I'm _so_ sorry," Vala said sarcastically. "Try and hold still, yeah?"

Casey wanted nothing more than to say, 'You did that on purpose, you stinking bitch!' Yet she wisely held her tongue and patiently waited for Vala to pull the knot loose with her teeth.

Casey let out a sigh of relief when she was able to pull her hands free of the ropes. She quickly leaned over and untied Vala's hands. When that task was done, each woman then sat up and pulled the ropes from their own feet.

"I've just realized something," Casey said, as she tossed the ropes aside and stood up. It felt great to be able to move again. "We may be free of our bonds, but where exactly can we go?"

"Plenty of places to hide aboard a Ha'tak ship, Casey. And I know of just a perfect place," Vala said, as she held out her hand. "Come on."

As annoying as she might be, Vala had still proven to be an invaluable ally in this time of darkness for Casey. With a smile, Casey took the hand of her new found friend and allowed her to lead the way off of the observation deck.

**SG-1: SVU**

"Here?" Olivia asked.

Ankra nodded as she gestured at the doorway. "No one will find you here. Come, go inside."

"Um, are these slave quarters strictly for women?" Daniel asked, as they entered a small alcove that led to a larger space. "Because I might stand out a bit…."

"We dress you up," Ankra said, as she went to a wall filled with shelves. She pulled a few garments and tossed them at him.

"Somehow I just knew I might be getting dressed in drag for this," Daniel wanly told Olivia.

She was about to say that it was for a good cause, until the sounds of a heated conversation just outside the doorway stopped them all dead in their tracks. Ankra looked terrified as she desperately tried to wrap up Daniel in the garments like a mummy.

But he removed them and just shook his head at the young slave girl. "It's too late for that, I think…."

"Yeah," Olivia whispered, as she pulled out her Zat and pointed it at the door. "Sounds like whoever this is, they're coming in right now. Hope they're not Anubis warriors…."

"I've never heard Anubis warriors squabble like that," Daniel whispered in her ear.

"Come to think of it," Olivia said, as she lowered her Zat, "you're right."

The twosome who entered were in the midst of a hot and heavy argument. They were a pair of barefoot women who were both clad in the skimpiest of slave garments--yet their furious manner was nothing like that of Netian Empire slaves. Olivia thought the raven-haired woman looked very familiar, until she realized that it was Qetesh, Ba'al's main squeeze.

"When I said 'go to the right' which right did you think I meant?" Qetesh said to the other woman with annoyance.

Her partner was an auburn-haired woman with fair skin who angrily held up her right hand. "This is known as 'right' back where I come from, ok?"

Olivia let out a sharp gasp when she got a good look at the auburn-haired woman.

It was Casey.

Casey, equally startled, stared back at Olivia in wide-eyed astounishment. She almost looked as if she couldn't quite believe it was Olivia and Daniel standing there.

Olivia holstered her gun and threw out her arms. "Come here, you!"

Casey burst into laughter as she and Olivia tightly hugged. Casey smelled heavily of perfumed soap, and her hair was slicked back against her head, as if having just been wet--but other than that, she looked fine.

"Um, excuse me," Daniel warily said to the raven-haired beauty. "But are you Qetesh?"

"No, no!" Casey urgently said, as she broke her embrace with Olivia. "The Goa'uld has been removed from her. This is Vala Mal Doran."

"Oh, well, then, it's a pleasure to meet you," Daniel said.

"Believe me," a smiling Vala replied, "the pleasure's all mine."

Daniel came over to Casey and gave her a warm hug in greeting. Then he and Casey pulled a grinning Olivia into a group hug.

"I just love happy reunions," Vala dreamily said to Ankra. Then she did a double take when she saw Ankra's eyes. "Oh, and I just _love_ your eyeliner! Very Egyptian! Do you do it yourself?"

For her part, Ankra just stared back at Vala as if she were completely and utterly insane.

**To Be Continued.....**


	10. Chapter 10

_My thanks to Mr. Robart for his comments, as always. _

**Stargate: SVU**

**Chapter Ten**

"That's incredible," Daniel murmured, after Casey had finished her story. "So Neith wasn't brought back by the sarcophagus after all, but through another, completely different technology."

They sat on the floor in the antechamber where they had all just met only moments ago. Olivia shook her head in amazement. "I didn't know that, when you cloned a Goa'uld, you also cloned the snake, as well," she said.

"Well, that's not something that the Goa'uld usually do," Daniel said. "I mean, the Goa'uld itself--the snake--is what's really important to them. Since they can live for far longer than their host bodies, they simply change hosts over time. But this entire process is very unusual."

"Lord Belial himself is very unusual," Vala spoke up.

"Oh, yeah," Casey added with a visible shudder. "For one thing, he's not human--at all!"

Vala held her hands out in front of her face in a cupped gesture. "He's got this big, bug-like eyes!"

"And this really small beak, like a bird," Casey added.

Olivia frowned. "If he's got a beak for a mouth, then how can he communicate with people?"

"Through a translating device he wears on his neck," Vala replied.

"He must be from a race that Neith had encountered when she was banished from this region of space by Ra," Daniel said. He then felt a sudden, abrupt shift in his being, and he instantly realized that the ship had dropped out of hyperspace. When Olivia clutched her stomach and looked sick, he affectionately rubbed her shoulder. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'll live," she muttered with a nod. "Are we out of hyperspace?"

"Your stomach never lies, Liv," Daniel jokingly told her, as he helped Olivia get to her feet. He braced himself for what was to come. If the ship had arrived at their destination, then their friends, who were prisoners, would most likely be moved. They would have to keep shadowing them, somehow, until the proper time to presented itself to break free the rest of SG-1.

The problem was, if Jack, Sam and the others were taken planet side, then how would Daniel, Liv and their little harem posse give chase? The fighting that erupted throughout the ship appeared to have ceased, and the hanger bay would no doubt be heavily guarded once more. He glanced at Olivia and asked, "You having any luck raising Janet and Char'el?"

Olivia keyed her radio just then and gave them a call. When she was met with silence, she just shook her head. "Still nothing."

"Where _are_ Char'el and Janet?" Casey asked.

"Hiding out in the hanger bay aboard a ship that we used to sneak on board this Ha'tak," Daniel replied. When Casey and Vala exchanged a wide-eyed look, he said, "Uh…what? What is it?"

"When we were kept bound on the observation deck, we saw an Alkesh ship blast its way out of the hanger deck," Vala reported. "I think it might have inadvertently saved my life by diverting Neith's attention, because she really wasn't too happy with me at that moment!"

"Did you come aboard in an Alkesh?" Casey asked.

Olivia nodded. "Looks like Janet and Char'el bugged out when the going got too rough."

"I hope so," Casey said with a look of concern. "I don't know what Char'el was thinking, coming along on this mission, anyway. He was very badly injured when I left him."

"He insisted on going," Olivia told her with a smile. "That guy's crazy about you, Case."

They all braced themselves as the ship began to rumble all around them. The hallways echoed with a male voice on the intercom who made an announcement in Goa'uld.

Olivia grabbed Daniel's arm. "What the hell's happening?!"

"They just made the announcement that we're descending to the planet's surface," Daniel said.

"What planet?" Casey asked nervously.

"Mount Tanis," he replied.

"Oh crud," Casey said with dread. "I hate this place…."

"You and me, both!" Olivia added. "Last time I was here, they tried to feed Sam and me to raptors!"

"Well, uh, the fact that we're landing actually makes things easier for us," Daniel told them. "We need to keep tabs on Jack, Sam and the others until we can find the perfect moment to spring them. At least now it'll be much easier to get off the ship than if it was still in orbit."

He glanced with a smile at Ankra, who stared back with a wary gaze.

"Perhaps you should stay behind," he told her. "This might get very dangerous."

"No! I want to go," Ankra said, looking sad. "Please don't send me away!"

"Now that she's had a taste of freedom, she doesn't want to let it go," Olivia told him. "And can you blame her? You can't ask her to go back to being a slave any more than you can ask Vala to be Qetesh again."

"And speaking of me," Vala said with a grin. "You can count me in all the way on whatever plan you've got cooking."

"Thank you," Daniel said to her with sincerity.

Vala waved her hand. "Oh, it's no bother! I've got nothing better to do, anyway. Besides, when this is all said and done, I assume you'll be taking me back with you, yeah?"

"Yes, we will," Daniel said.

Olivia glanced at Ankra and added, "And you're coming home with us, too, sweetie."

Daniel was pleased to see that that bit of news had made Ankra a very happy woman. "Ok," he said. "Let's go out and see what we can see."

**SG-1: SVU**

Belial sat and watched the footage from the prison cell security cameras with interest. He suspected that the second group of Tauri warriors whom they had captured might be members of SG-1, the very same team who had killed Her Lord Empress Neith. He further suspected that the man with the graying hair was Colonel Jack O'Neill, their leader.

Belial took note when one of the team members, a blond woman, woke up from having been stunned by the Anubis warriors. The man whom he suspected of being O'Neill began to rub her neck and shoulders in a way that suggested he was very familiar with her. When their healer went to check on the blond woman, the man massaging her said something.

Belial turn up the sound, and heard him say, "Courtesy of O'Neill's magic fingers."

Belial froze the image and then sat back in his chair, pleased with himself. This was indeed SG-1, and that man was their leader. And, even better, it appeared that O'Neill had a soft spot for the blond woman.

'Perfect,' Belial thought. 'Just perfect….'

The ship was in the process of landing on Mount Tanis, and he knew that the prisoners would be gathered up from their cell and taken down to the planet. Belial would have to move fast if he wanted to intercept them. He emerged from his private room and summoned his acolytes to come with him.

When they entered the corridor, Belial commanded a squad of the Anubis warriors to accompany them. Armed with this formidable entourage, they went to the prison center--only to find the prisoners had already been moved.

The ship had landed then, and Belial was informed by the Jaffa on guard that the Tauri prisoners had already been taken to the surface via the ring transporter down the corridor.

Belial and his deadly entourage of Anubis warriors, along with the Sons of Darkness, easily commandeered the ring transporter from a squad of Jaffa, and once they materialized on the Mount Tanis platform, he saw SG-1 being led away in chains.

"Stop," he commanded.

The Jaffa escorting the prisoners all turned to see who had given that command. When they saw it was Lord Belial, all of the Jaffa instantly bowed in respect.

O'Neill and the others stood with their wrists bound behind their backs--yet, despite this, the commander of SG-1 still stared defiantly at Belial as he strode up to them. The blond woman was close by O'Neill's side.

"Hey, you're not from around here, are ya?" O'Neill asked Belial in a mocking tone.

'Even as a prisoner, he's still a commanding figure,' Belial thought--not without some trace of admiration for his new enemy. He did best Neith in battle, after all. 'Perhaps it would be a good thing to knock him down to a more suitable mood.'

"I am Lord Belial. And you are Colonel Jack O'Neill, of SG-1, the group of Tauri assassins who killed our beloved Lord Empress."

"Yeah, well, your 'beloved Lord Empress' is looking pretty good for a dead woman," O'Neill shot back.

"Her Lord Empress Neith has been returned to us only through a long, and tortuous road," Belial replied. "And only after a great sacrifice on the part of myself and the Sons of Darkness."

"Well, then, I'm so very glad to hear that we've made life so miserable for you," O'Neill curtly told him.

Belial strode up until they were almost face to face. "Not as miserable as I am about to make _your_ life, my dear Colonel O'Neill." He gestured to the blond woman whom O'Neill had shown affection for, and said, "Take her with us."

"Wait, a minute!" O'Neill angrily said, as he watched two of Belial's acolytes grab his woman. "BELIAL, STOP!!!"

Belial turned on his heel and was satisfied to see that the bound O'Neill still had to be restrained by two of the Jaffa. The rest of the Tauri warriors were kept in check by the combined weapons of the Jaffa and the Anubis warriors.

"J-Jack, dad--no, it's ok!" the blond woman told them. She tried to sound reassuring, despite the fact that she cringed in pain when one of the Anubis warriors had grabbed her by the back of the neck. "Please, just do as they say!"

"The hell we will, Sam!" This was from another man, who stank of being a Tok'ra. "Belial, my name is Jacob Carter; I work as a spy with the Tok'ra! That woman doesn't know anything. Take me, instead of her!"

Ignoring him, Belial stared with smug satisfaction at the agitated O'Neill and said, "And where are your mocking comments now, Colonel?"

"Belial, look," O'Neill said. "You've got a problem with me, then take it out with me. Ok? I mean, you're right. I killed Neith--I'm the leader of this team, and it was _my _plan that killed her. You hear me? I personally killed Neith, and so _I'm_ the one who should be going with you, not her."

"When I first heard of the death of Her Lord Empress Neith, I and my Sons Of Darkness were in the furthest reaches of space, Colonel," Belial said gently. "Could you imagine how I felt that day, upon first hearing the horrible news? Do you have any idea?"

"No, Belial," O'Neill said with a weary sigh. "I don't believe I do."

"Oh, trust me, Colonel, You _will_ know how I felt that day," Belial promised him. He gestured at the blond woman. "For once you receive word that I have tortured your beloved Sam to death, you will then surely know how _I _felt…."

"BELIAL, YOU SON OF A BITCH!" O'Neill roared at him.

With that, Belial gestured for his Sons Of Darkness to take the woman with them. He commanded two of the Anubis warriors to remain behind and help the Jaffa--and their help was sorely needed, for despite the fact that the Tauri all had their hands bound behind their backs, they had still put up a furious fight. The traitor Jaffa among them, Teal'c, had tried to ram his way through the Jaffa guards, until one of the Anubis warriors stopped him cold with a savage blow to the back of his head.

The woman named Sam burst into tears as she stood helplessly watching her comrades get beat down into submission. At one moment, she tried to run to them, but the Anubis warrior who held her by the nape of the neck had a strong grip.

"It would appear the vaunted SG-1 is not as fearsome as your reputation would have us believe," Belial told her.

"Please, do whatever you want with me," she tearfully said. "But just don't hurt the others anymore. Please!"

"You dared to kill Her Lord Empress Neith," Belial replied, as he strode away. "Such an act has dire repercussions. And all of you shall pay the price in full, my dear."

**SG-1: SVU**

Just before he awoke, Jonas was suffering from a bad nightmare where he found himself being pursued by everyone whom he knew on Kelowna. His parents, his best friends, his co-workers all chased him down in the streets, shouting at him, throwing rocks, and calling him a traitor. Their accusations echoed off of the walls of the narrow street where Jonas ran down. He saw an open doorway, which turned out to be the only way out, and ran towards it.

Yet before Jonas could run inside, to safety, he turned back to his friends, his loved ones, and tried to explain to them. He wanted them to understand his actions, he wanted to explain to them why he did what he did.

But then they all raised weapons at him, looking for all the world like a firing squad--a firing squad that consisted of his friends and loved ones.

Jonas turned and ran back towards the doorway--but not before he heard a shot. He flinched in pain, as he--

--woke up, startled to find himself in what looked like a hospital without any windows. Then Jonas realized that he was with the Tauri, at their Stargate Command; he had made it through the wormhole with the Naquadria.

And, in doing so, he had betrayed his country, as well as his entire world.

Jonas lay his head back against the pillow and let out a heavy sigh. One of the nurses, a young woman with dirty blond hair that was pulled back in a sensible braid, came over to him. Her ID tag read Johansen.

"Welcome back," she said with a smile. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Jonas replied. And that was the truth. His back, where he had been shot, still hurt--but not as intensely as it did before. "I take it they got the bullet out?"

She nodded as she made a quick check of his vital signs. "Dr. Fraiser did just that. I'll go tell Dr. Lam that you're awake, now."

"Dr. Fraiser's not here?" Jonas said, sounding disconcerted.

"No, she's off world on a mission at the moment," Nurse Johansen replied. She paused to stare at him. "Are you sure you're ok, Jonas?"

He was about to reply that he was--but the fact was that, deep down, Jonas was troubled. "You ever make a really big decision, a life-altering one, and you weren't sure if it was the right one? That maybe you've made a mistake?"

Nurse Johansen nodded with a knowing smile. "I've just made a decision like that recently."

"Really? May I ask what it was?"

She glanced downwards for a moment, as if embarrassed. "Well, I've always wanted to go off world myself. And the fastest way for me to do that right now is to become a medic. And so I've started both medic and SG field training. It's pretty intense! When I first began it, I wasn't sure if it was for me, you know? I had started second-guessing myself."

"Are you liking it, now?"

She nodded. "I'm getting the hang of it. It's hard, but I like it. It just wasn't enough for me to be working at the SGC, I wanted to actually go through the stargate myself. I figured, since I have the chance, while I was here, I might as well take it, you know? I never would have forgiven myself if I never at least gave it a shot."

She shyly placed her hand in front of her mouth as she blushed. "Listen to me, babbling away at a patient! Sorry!"

"Don't be," Jonas told her. What she had just told him, about wanting to better herself--and the fact that she was even given a chance to do so by her government--had given Jonas a great deal of hope that perhaps he had made the right decision to trust the Tauri. "May I ask your name?"

"Tamara Johansen," she replied. "But everybody calls me TJ, for short."

"TJ?" Jonas said with a smile. "I like that. Listen, TJ, good luck with your training. I know you're going to make a great field medic."

TJ smiled back in sincere appreciation at him. "Thanks! Um, excuse me; I'll go get Dr. Lam for you."

**SG-1: SVU**

"Nice," Olivia said, once she got a good look at the surroundings that the ring transporter had brought them to. "Very nice!"

Vala smiled back at her. "I told you I knew a special way down here. This is a private ring transporter that's reserved for Ba'al and Qetesh…or, at least, it _was_ reserved for Ba'al and Qetesh…."

"Good thing you still remembered this," Daniel said, as he looked over the empty chamber they were in with a nod of approval. "We've just avoided having to deal with any unwanted attention."

"Where are we, anyway?" Casey asked. "Where did we just beam down to?"

"The Royal Quarters on Mount Tanis," Vala said. "It's located right smack dab in the middle of the city. The command ship just lands right on top of it. We're in the central departure complex below. There should be--"

She stopped talking when Ankra, who stood by the open doorway, began waving her hands frantically. "Someone is coming!" she whispered.

Olivia grabbed Ankra and pressed herself and the young slave girl up against the wall. Daniel, Casey and Vala fell in right behind them.

When she saw an Anubis soldier stride past the doorway, Ankra almost let out a fearful whimper--until Olivia slapped her hand over the girl's mouth. Then Olivia's eyes grew wide when she saw a group of black-clad aliens, who could only be Lord Belial and his Sons Of Darkness, as they walked past. Casey and Vala's description of them was right on the money: they all indeed had big, bug eyes.

Then she was further stunned to see a distraught Sam, her arms tied behind her back, being led by the collar by an Anubis soldier. For a brief instant, she glanced up and saw Olivia, and Sam's eyes grew wide with a mixture of shock and newfound hope.

And then Sam was gone, pushed passed the doorway by her captor.

Once she was sure that it was safe, Olivia released Ankra's mouth, then glanced back at Daniel and the others. "Did you guys see that?" she urgently whispered. "They're taking Sam somewhere!"

"I believe they're headed towards the central labs," Vala told them. "It's where Ba'al kept Lord Anubis."

"Yeah, well, wherever they're taking Sam," Daniel said, "that's where we're going, too. C'mon."

**SG-1: SVU**

When Ba'al entered the throne room in the royal residence on Mount Tanis, he found Neith standing by the massive windows. It wasn't so long ago that this was _his_ throne room, and for a split second, the former Lord Emperor of the Netian Empire felt peevish envy for having lost his grand status. However, thanks to his own machinations, Ba'al was still alive--and for as long as he was alive, there always resided the chance that he would regain his lost glory.

Ba'al waited patiently by the doorway, taking note of the fact that the guards in the room were standard Jaffa warriors. It was clear that Her Lord Empress Neith did not approve of, nor trusted, the Anubis warriors, despite the fact that it was through their might that she so quickly and easily regained control of her empire from the subjects who were still loyal to him.

'Perhaps it was the fact that the Anubis troops were controlled solely through Lord Belial that fills her with such unease,' Ba'al realized.

Neith turned away from the window and, seeing him, gestured for Ba'al to take a seat in a chair. Ba'al did so, only after respectfully bowing to her.

Neith briefly paced back and forth in front of him as he admired her from the chair. She was indeed a gorgeous woman; the silver and black dress she wore showed off her lean, fit body. And the supreme self confidence that she had only made her even more attractive to Ba'al.

Ba'al had briefly considered making an escape attempt the first chance he got--but now, he realized that his fortunes might be better served if he remained here, in the service of this extraordinary woman. And if he played his cards right, Ba'al might even be able to worm his way into her heart. Regaining command of the empire--even a mere co-command status--would be satisfactory, especially if he had taken Neith as his lover. He wondered what would she be like in bed, and that thought made Ba'al all the more determined to find out.

A Jaffa with the crossed arrows tattoo of the Netian Empire on his forehead entered the throne room and bowed before Neith. "My Lord Empress, there has been some scattered fighting--but, by and large, Mount Tanis is well under our control."

"The fighting, was it done mainly by the Anubis warriors?" she asked.

The Jaffa nodded. "Just as you have requested, my Lord Empress."

"Casualties?"

"All of the rebel Jaffa--those still loyal to Ba'al--are all dead, my Lord Empress."

"What of casualties on the side of the Anubis troops?" Neith asked.

The Jaffa shook his head. "None, my Lord Empress."

"I see," Neith said, clearly disappointed. "And you have seen all of this with your own eyes?"

He nodded. "That I have, my Lord Empress."

"What is your name?"

"To'mar, my Lord Empress."

"I require a new First Prime, To'mar," Neith told him. "You now have that job."

To'mar's eyes flared with surprise, then he bowed once more. "Thank you, my Lord Empress. I--" Then he paused.

Neith glanced up at him. "You…what?"

"It is nothing, my Lord--"

"To'mar, listen to me," Neith said firmly. "As my First Prime, you are expected to keep me appraised of many things that I might miss. Such as Jaffa morale. So, if you have something to say, then spit it out."

The First prime nodded. "Yes, my Lord Empress. In that case, I must say that, being named as your First Prime is a great honor for me. And that it will go a long way to helping morale among the Jaffa."

"And how _is_ morale among the Jaffa?"

"Everyone--that is, we Jaffa--we thought that we would be replaced by the Anubis troops," To'mar replied uneasily.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," Neith told him. "I highly value my Jaffa warriors, for they helped me to build my empire, not these unnatural, dog-faced animals. See to it that you inform my Jaffa of my warm feelings for them. Close the door, and stand guard outside with your Jaffa, First Prime."

To'mar bowed. He appeared to be greatly relieved. "Yes, my Lord Empress Neith."

For the first time since he entered the throne room, Neith gave Ba'al her full attention. "And we have you to thank, Ba'al, for the empire now being in the death grip of these dog-faced runts," Neith said curtly. Yet before Ba'al could even begin to speak up in his defense, Neith added, "You were able to decipher how the cloning technology created by Lord Belial worked, yes?"

"Yes," he replied. "That was how I was able to clone the original Lord Anubis."

"Tell me, Ba'al, is there a kill switch for the Anubis clones? Can they all be shut down, or killed, with the flick of a switch?"

"Regrettably, no, my Lord Empress," he said. "The device I implanted within the heads of the clones keeps them under control--they lack the uncontrollable rage of the original Anubis. Since that was the case, I never felt the need for a kill switch."

"And now, this invincible army is solely under my command--that is, for as long as Lord Belial remains loyal to me."

Ba'al watched her carefully as she gazed out the window. "I never knew that Lord Belial had a failsafe ingrained within the genetic code of Lord Anubis," he said, sheepishly.

"You were not the only one who did not know this fact," Neith said with distaste. "Pray tell, Ba'al, if you could learn how to use the cloning device, might you also be able to discover how his other gadgets work, such as the Lazarus device? I ask this only in the unfortunate event that something might…_happen_ to Lord Belial."

And in that instant, Ba'al saw what she had been contemplating. "Why, yes, my Lord Empress. I should be able to discern the workings of the Lazarus device, among other things. I could get started on my research right now, if you so desire."

"Be discreet in your research, Ba'al," Neith told him. "We would not want anyone--Lord Belial least of all--to get the wrong idea, of course."

Ba'al nodded. "Oh, of course, my Lord Empress."

She called for To'mar. When the First Prime entered, Neith gave him orders to have several Jaffa escort Ba'al down to the labs. And that the Jaffa were to ensure that Ba'al was not to be disturbed by anyone.

As Ba'al left with his armed escort, he smiled to himself. Apparently his decision to stay by Neith's side had already proved to be the right one.

**SG-1: SVU**

When they arrived at the labs, Olivia saw that the main doorway was unguarded. 'Thank God for small miracles,' she thought happily, as she glanced at Daniel. She gave him a tentative nod, as if to say, 'Ok?'

After a quick glance around, he raised his P90 and nodded back. "We go in together, you and I," he whispered at her. "You see any Anubis soldiers, just blast away at them."

"Sounds like a plan," Olivia said, as she pulled out her Glock. She glanced back at Vala and Casey. "You guys want guns?"

"Yes, please," Casey replied.

Daniel gave Casey his nine while Olivia gave Vala her Zat. "Stay behind Liv and me," Daniel told them. "Let us take point."

Casey tightly grabbed Ankra's hand and said, "And you stay with me, ok?"

Ankra nodded nervously.

"We ready?" Daniel asked the women.

"Ready as we'll ever be," Olivia replied.

"Then let's go," Daniel said. "And everybody please be careful."

'Isn't that a wish for every time we take a big risk?' Olivia grimly thought, as she raced towards the doorway with Daniel.

They paused on either side of the doorway and peered inside, with their guns pointed at any potential threat. But there were none. The alcove within was empty. Olivia and Daniel slowly stepped inside, each doing a sweep of their side of the room with their gun.

When Olivia saw a doorway she gestured towards it with her free hand.

Daniel nodded. Then he gestured for them to walk through. Casey, Vala and Ankra brought up the rear as Daniel and Olivia carefully strode up to the second doorway.

What Olivia saw inside almost made her gasp.

Sam was helplessly strapped down to an examination table of some sort, stripped down to just her tank top and pants. The bastard had even gagged her.

The 'bastard' himself was standing at a counter just behind Sam, busy working on something. He was one of the black-garbed aliens. As she and Daniel entered the room, their guns aimed at the alien, they were startled by the sight of an Anubis warrior--until they realized that it was the original Lord Anubis, who was safely contained within his stasis chamber.

Sam had noticed them--yet, instead of relief, she appeared even more apprehensive as she desperately tried to tell them something under her gag.

'Something's wrong,' Olivia thought, as she felt a sickening feeling twist within her gut. 'Something's _very_ wrong, here….'

She exchanged a wary glance with Daniel. He gritted his teeth and pointed his P90 at the alien's back. "You there," he called to the alien. "I've got a gun pointed at you. Turn around very slowly."

"My name is Lord Belial, Daniel Jackson," the alien replied, as he casually turned around with his hands held up. His big, bug eyes blinked rapidly at them. "It is good to meet you. And you've brought Olivia Benson!"

"He knew!" Sam cried, as soon as Casey pulled the gag from her mouth. "He knew you were coming! The whole thing's a trap!"

The door they came through had slid shut just then, and a large group of Jaffa and Anubis warriors--along with the Sons Of Darkness, in their ominous black cloaks--all emerged from hidden spaces within the lab and surrounded Olivia, Daniel, and the others.

"Oh, my," Vala said, as she anxiously pointed her Zat at one Jaffa, then at another. "This situation is not good!"

"Miss Benson, you--along with Samantha Carter--had caused insurrection within the citizenry of Mount Tanis when you escaped the raptor maze," Belial said. "But, rest assured, I shall rectify that by placing you both back within the center of the maze. You shall both be tied down to stakes on the ground, and left for the raptors to feed on. The sight of the two of you being eaten alive should quell any desire of rebellion on the part of the populace."

'Sweet Jesus,' Olivia thought with horror, as an Anubis soldier began snarling at her; its muscles were coiled, as if ready to strike at any time. She, Daniel, and the others had all formed a tight circle in the center of the lab, all facing outward at their enemies. Sam had even joined them, once she was freed from her bonds.

"Sorry, Sam," Olivia said sadly.

Sam gave her a small, wry smile, as she affectionately grabbed Olivia's free hand. "Hey, as Jack would say, it's the thought that counts, right?"

Belial made a grand, sweeping gesture with his hand. "Take them."

And in the split second just before the Anubis soldiers attacked, Olivia muttered, "Why does everything have to be so frigging hard?"

**To be continued....**


	11. Chapter 11

_Author's Note: I was about to post this chapter about two weeks ago when I realized something. It really sucked. I mean, seriously, it wasn't very good. And so I held off on posting while I completely rewrote this entire chapter from start to finish. And in doing this rewrite, I've changed the storyline for the coming chapters into a far more epic one. So this was why there hasn't been any updates in a while. Hope you enjoy it, as always. _

**Stargate: SVU 3**

**Chapter Eleven**

Daniel opened fire with his P90 right into the face of an Anubis soldier who leapt at them. The burst of bullets directly into his face had momentarily stopped the unnatural soldier, but Olivia knew that that wouldn't last long. She glanced over at Lord Belial, who calmly stood there, with the stray bullets and Jaffa weapons fire bouncing off of his personal force shield.

'It figures,' she grimly thought, just as she emptied a clip of her Glock into another Anubis soldier. 'The bigger the creep, the better protected they are!'

"Everybody get down under the tables!" Sam shouted "Use them as cover!"

'Great idea!' Olivia thought. Yet before she could join the others, the very same Anubis soldier whom she had just shot at abruptly reached out and grabbed Olivia's arm. With a roar, the jackal-faced monster pulled Olivia away from her friends--who had desperately reached out for her from under the table--and slammed her forcefully into a wall.

Olivia, dazed, slid down the wall and onto the floor as the Anubis soldier strode towards her with its hands glowing a blue electric charge. She glanced behind her and saw that the solider had flung her right up against the stasis chamber where Lord Anubis rested. That gave her an idea. Olivia quickly got to her feet.

"Do not kill her," Belial commanded the Anubis solider who faced Olivia. "I want her, as well as the others, all taken alive."

The Anubis warrior snarled at Olivia as it raised its hands at her.

"No, Daniel!" Olivia shouted, when she saw him about to come out from under the table. "Stay there!"

"Liv, what--?"

"Just trust me!" Olivia said, as she glared at the Anubis solider. "Come on, you ugly son of a bitch…."

The monster roared as it opened its hands, releasing the bolts of blue energy right at Olivia.

And just then, Olivia dived to the floor.

The bolts of energy shot over her, and right into the stasis chamber that held Lord Anubis. Sparks erupted and smoke emerged from within the damaged chamber as an alarm sounded. Then the door slid open.

Yet all that emerged was thick, billowing smoke.

"Oh, give me a frigging break!" Olivia shook her head in disbelief as she watched from the floor. 'This guy was supposed to be invincible,' she thought. 'But, just my luck, a little smoke is finally gonna make him keel over….'

She flinched as the Anubis soldier reached down for her--

--just as a nerve-rattling roar erupted from within the smoky stasis chamber.

This actually gave the Anubis soldier pause, as it glanced up warily into the billowing smoke.

Olivia just smiled up at him. "Hey, King Kong, meet Godzilla…."

Lord Anubis emerged from the smoke just then, and Olivia was surprised at how silent he was--and fast! The Anubis soldier never had a chance as Lord Anubis plunged his claws deep into his chest, the tips of his talons bursting out of the back.

Olivia scurried out of the way as Lord Anubis grabbed the head of the soldier and twisted it off as effortlessly as a bottle cap. Olivia flinched as the Anubis soldier's decapitated head bounced once on the floor in front of her before coming to a stop. She was disgusted to see its eyes and jaws were still working.

Lord Belial ran over to Lord Anubis and said, "I command you to heed my words, Lord Anubis! For I have created you, and therefore, you shall obey my--"

In response, Lord Anubis grabbed Belial by the throat, hefted the surprised, choking alien off the floor and then flung him clear across the lab. The Sons Of Darkness quickly gathered and then carried their unconscious leader from the room.

That just left the remaining Anubis troops, along with a few hapless Jaffa, to face the newly awoken and enraged Lord Anubis.

'Sweet Jesus,' Olivia fearfully thought, as Anubis let out a horrific screech of anger just before he plunged into the clone troops and Jaffa. As much as she instinctively wanted to go crawl into a hole and hide for the rest of her life, Olivia remained where she was, too fearful to move, lest Lord Anubis saw her and attacked.

She was glad to see everybody else remained hidden under the table. Daniel gestured for her to come hide with them, but Olivia just shook her head, too afraid to even crawl the short distance to them.

That was when Sam deftly rolled out from under the table and dived under the second one, which was even closer to Olivia. When Sam beckoned to Olivia to come to her, Olivia quickly did so.

They grabbed each other under the table and just held on tightly as the vicious battle raged on around them. Actually, it was more of a massacre, with Lord Anubis gleefully wiping out all who still stood within the lab. Olivia cringed when she heard the sound of someone--probably a poor Jaffa--screaming, accompanied by the grotesque sound of bones breaking.

Both Olivia and Sam flinched when the mangled body of the Jaffa landed on the floor beside them, tossed away by Lord Anubis like so much garbage.

Letting out another roar, Lord Anubis pounded on the closed door until he smashed his way through it. And, in his absence, there was an eerie silence.

Daniel peeked out from under the table across from Olivia and Sam, then he nodded. "It's clear…."

They emerged from the tables, only to bear witness to a horror show: dead Jaffa were strewn all over the lab, and the ripped apart bodies of the Anubis soldiers were still twitching and moving. Olivia blanched at the sight of a torn off arm from an Anubis soldier that continued to pull itself across the floor, as if in search of the body it was severed from.

Daniel grabbed her and pulled Olivia into a hug. "You all right?"

"Yeah, considering I've just unleashed an unholy terror on Mount Tanis," she replied, "I'm feeling pretty good."

"Don't kid yourself," Vala told her. "By doing what you did, you've just saved all of our lives. And I, for one, am grateful to you."

"Yes, good thinking, Liv," Sam added. She then glared at Vala and added, "Hey, what's Qetesh doing here?"

"No, not Qetesh!" Daniel quickly told her. "They removed her Goa'uld. This is Vala Mal Doran. Vala, this is Major Sam Carter."

"Oh," Sam said, her tone softening. "Pleased to meet you, then."

Olivia glanced at a terrified Ankra, who clung to Casey's side almost as if she were a conjoined twin. "Is she ok?"

"Fine," Casey replied. "Just a little unnerved. And I think I know how she feels!"

"Believe me, we all feel the same way," Daniel said. He did a double take at Sam, who stared intently at the severed head of the Anubis soldier that lay on the floor before them. "Uh, Sam…you ok?"

"Yeah," she said absently, deep in thought. Then, as if remembering something, Sam said, "I need my shirt!"

"I'll watch the door," Vala offered. Then, after passing the detached, still-twitching leg from a ravaged Anubis soldier on the floor, she shook her head in disgust. "Oh, that is just _so_ not right…."

Olivia stared at Sam in puzzlement as she searched the shelves of the lab for her shirt. Not able to find it, Sam saw folded white sheets on a shelf above her. She pulled one out, unfolded it, then nodded in satisfaction. "This'll do perfectly!"

Olivia didn't understand what the problem was. While Sam had been stripped of her BDU shirt and footwear by Belial, compared to the scant outfits that Casey, Vala and Ankra wore, Sam was still pretty well covered up.

"Um, Sam, sweetie?" Olivia gently asked. "Why do you need the sheet? You feeling cold?"

"Oh no, the sheet's not for me," Sam said with a chuckle. "It's for the head."

"The…_head_….?" Olivia uneasily said, as Sam walked past her.

Daniel exchanged a wide-eyed look with Olivia. "Um, did she just say that the sheet was for the--the--?"

"For the head," Olivia nervously confirmed. "Yeah…."

They watched as Sam placed the sheet on the floor next to the wiggling, dismembered head. Then Olivia flinched with disgust as Sam casually picked up the head and placed it in the sheet, which she carefully wrapped up around it. When Sam threw the grisly contents of the sheet over her shoulder, like a sack, Olivia, Daniel, Casey and Ankra all stared at her as if she were a serial killer.

Sam just stared back at them, confused. "What?"

"Why on earth are you taking _that_ back with you?" Daniel asked, appalled.

"The head of the Anubis clone contains the device that Ba'al installed, which controls them," Sam explained. "If we can get this head back to the SGC, Janet can dissect it and get the device out for me. If _I_ can figure out how the device works, I may be able to find a way to shut it off."

Daniel nodded in understanding. "Which will turn Neith's Anubis clone army into a pack of uncontrollable wild animals. Good thinking, Sam."

"Yeah," Olivia said with relief. "For a second there, we thought you had gone all 'Rambo' on us and were picking up a combat trophy."

"Hey, Liv," Sam said, with one of her brilliant smiles. "It's _me_, remember?"

"How could I forget?" Olivia said, as she gave Sam a brief, one-armed hug.

"Vala," Daniel called, as they all walked towards the door, "is it clear?"

"Thanks to Lord Anubis, this corridor is about as clear as it's gonna get!" she called back. "If we're gonna go, there's no better time than now, yeah?"

"Yeah," Daniel replied. "Now we just need to find where they're keeping Jack and the others."

"Most likely place is the prison area," Vala replied confidently. "It's on this level. We just go down the hallway on our right all the way to the end, make a left, and there it is."

"Still remember this place from your days as Qetesh, huh?" Sam asked with a smile.

"Yeah, but I really wouldn't mind saying goodbye," Vala replied. "The sooner, the better."

They were startled by the sound of an alarm klaxon that urgently erupted throughout the complex.

"Is that because of us?" Casey asked.

"Either that, or because Lord Anubis is presently raging his way through everyone and everything in sight," Daniel replied.

"Wonder if there's anybody left?" Casey asked.

"How about we not wait around to find out?" Sam asked.

"Yeah," Olivia agreed. "Let's get going."

**SG-1: SVU**

Ba'al was almost at the lab with his Jaffa escort when they heard the alarm sound throughout the complex. Then they saw a group of Mount Tanis residents--mostly slaves and common workers--all come around the corner ahead of them, running for their lives in a mindless panic.

Then they saw what they were running from.

Ba'al's eyes grew wide when he saw Lord Anubis round the corner. Once the unnatural creature saw them, it let out an enraged roar and charged right at them.

Several of the Jaffa had managed to get off some direct hits on Lord Anubis' body, but not before the unholy creature plowed right into them, flinging fully grown men to the side with one arm.

To'mar made a warrior's stance, as if to hold his ground, until Ba'al grabbed him and pulled him behind a column off to the side. When the newly appointed First Prime of Neith had tried to argue, Ba'al just shook his head at him.

"You can't fight a force of nature like Lord Anubis," Ba'al said, as they watched the monstrosity effortlessly cut through the ranks of Jaffa as it continued down the hall. "You can only hope to get out of its way in time."

"What happened?" To'mar asked, stunned. "How did he get loose?"

"I do not know," Ba'al replied. "But might I suggest that we inform Her Lord Empress Neith of this new development?"

To'mar nodded, and they both started to run back in the direction of Neith's throne room, when they were stopped by the sight of Neith herself, who led a cadre of Jaffa down the hallway towards them. Neith was an imposing sight, clad as she was in her gleaming armor.

"My Lord Empress," Ba'al began to say, "I regret to inform you that--"

"Lord Anubis has escaped, yes," she curtly said. "I know. Have either of you two seen Lord Belial?"

When both Ba'al and To'mar shook their heads in the negative, Neith grew thoughtful. "I have tried to contact Lord Belial, but he is not answering my calls."

"Perhaps he might have come across Lord Anubis," Ba'al said, his tone hopeful. "And is injured…or worse…."

"Perhaps," Neith said noncommittally. "In any event, Lord Anubis is on the loose, and I can not tolerate that. Come, gentlemen--join me for what will most likely be a very challenging hunt!"

As Ba'al fell in line with the troops who followed Neith in the hunt for Lord Anubis, he could not help but admire the spring in her step and the fire in her eyes. It was clear that Neith was actually looking forward to this.

'What's been said about her is true,' he realized with a smile. 'Neith is truly the goddess of the hunt.'

**SG-1: SVU**

O'Neill stood with Jacob in the back of the cell, trying to give what comfort he could when he felt very little comfort of his own. At first, everyone stood apart from them, understanding their shared pain, and respecting their need for private grief.

Yet O'Neill had refused to give up on Sam. He ordered Hailey to start looking for a way out--for some way of knocking down the force field from within the cell itself. The bastards who locked them in here had kept their hands tied behind their backs, and O'Neill had further ordered all of them to find a way to get themselves loose.

Thankfully, Sgt. Emmaus had a neat trick where she laid down on the floor and slipped her bound wrists around her legs, so that her tied hands were now in front of her. Although she was still bound, this made it much easier for Emmaus to work on getting Teal'c's wrists untied.

While she did this, Hailey carefully cased the walls of their cell, looking for a panel that she could pry loose and work on once her own wrists were untied.

They were interrupted by a klaxon that whooped loudly throughout the complex. When a male voice began to speak in Goa'uld, O'Neill said, "Satterfield, what's he saying?"

Satterfield went over to the doorway to better listen, being careful not to get too close to the force field. What she heard made her eyes grow wide in terror. "It's Lord Anubis, sir," she reported. "He's gotten loose! All of Mount Tanis is on lockdown. They're calling for all troops to respond to battle."

"Lord Anubis?" Carson said, puzzled. "Is he the one charge of the Anubis troops?"

"He was the one they were cloned from," McKay replied. "Very nasty sucker. Trust me, Carson, you wouldn't want to meet _him_ in a dark alley--or anywhere else, for that matter!"

"From the sound of things, they don't have him under the same control they have over the Anubis troops," Sheppard said.

"No, they don't. We've squared off against him once," O'Neill said. "And believe me, I actually feel sorry for any Jaffa who're going up against him now."

He glanced at Jacob, who was still wracked with worry over Sam. "This is a good thing, Jacob. Lord Anubis running around, causing chaos, is just what we need. A diversion. Once we break out of here, we'll be able to use this diversion to find--"

"SAM!" Jacob abruptly said.

O'Neill didn't realize just how distraught the man was over the fate of his only daughter. But it was perfectly understandable. "Yes, Jacob, we'll be able to start looking for--"

But Jacob shook his head. "No, Jack--I mean Sam! She's right there!"

O'Neill glanced at the doorway to their cell and was shocked--and relieved--to see Sam was standing there, smiling in at all of them. She turned to the side and gestured to somebody to come over. As O'Neill and Jacob both ran up to the doorway, O'Neill quickly looked her over. Other than the fact that she was barefoot, and wore just a tank top with her pants, Sam looked fine. She carried a white sack over her shoulder, the contents of which twisted slightly.

"Is everybody all right?" Sam asked. She worked the controls on the wall by the door. The force field instantly disappeared.

"We're good, Major," Hailey replied, as they all stepped out.

O'Neill was further pleased to see Daniel, Olivia, Casey and Anka run up. He was briefly confused to see Qetesh was with them, and packing a gun, to boot--but thought it would be best to let it slide for now. Daniel and Olivia pulled out their knives and used it to free everybody. Once Jacob was freed, he gave Sam a warm hug.

"Are _you_ all right?" Jacob asked.

"I'm fine, dad," she assured him. "Olivia, Daniel and the others rescued me."

"It is good to see you are safe, Major Carter," Teal'c told her gently.

Sam grinned up at him while still in the arms of her father. "Thanks, Teal'c. Good to see you again, too."

Teal'c then turned to O'Neill. "I shall check the guard station."

"Need some company?" Sheppard asked, as he and Emmaus went with him.

"Were you the one who set Lord Anubis loose?" O'Neill asked Sam.

"That was Olivia's doing," Sam replied.

When everybody stared at her in surprise, Olivia just shrugged and said, "Well, it seemed like a good idea at the time…."

Daniel gestured at Qetesh and said, "Um, FYI, everybody: this is _not_ Qetesh, but the nice woman from whom the Qetesh Goa'uld was removed. Her name's Vala Mal Doran. Oh, and for those who may not have met them, these two are Casey Novak, and Ankra."

Casey grew wide-eyed with dread as Rodney came up to her and threw his hands out wide. "CASEY! It's so good to see you!"

"Ugh…yeah," Casey uneasily muttered, as she was squeezed in a bear hug by Rodney. "Same here…."

When he released her, Rodney glanced down at her scant outfit and said, "Boy, you _really_ went native, huh? Is this how you always dress, now?"

Casey just stared back at him in disbelief.

"You're out of uniform--again--Major," O'Neill jokingly said to Sam.

She just flashed a brilliant grin at him. "Looks like my time among the Mumani spoiled me, sir. I'm used to dressing this way."

"C'mere," O'Neill said, as he pulled Sam into a hug.

Although surprised at first, Sam quickly returned the hug with full force. O'Neill thoroughly enjoyed having her in his arms again--at least until the sack that she had slung over her shoulder began to wiggle against him.

"Ok," O'Neill said, when they parted, "what the hell is _that_?"

"The severed head of an Anubis warrior," Sam replied, deadpan. "Sir."

O'Neill was about to ask why in God's name was she toting around the severed head of an Anubis warrior when Hailey came over with a grin and said, "Great going, Major! Now we can get our hands on the device that controls the clone soldiers!"

"Oh, yeah," O'Neill said with a sudden nod. "I-I knew that…."

Teal'c, Sheppard and Emmaus returned, and they were loaded down with staff weapons and Zat guns, which they freely distributed. "The guard station's deserted," Sheppard reported. "Looks like everybody's joined the hunt for Lord Anubis."

"Either that, or they're running for their lives away from him," O'Neill said, as he accepted a Zat from Teal'c. He turned to Qetesh…no, wait, her name was…Mala? "Excuse me--Mala, is it?"

"Vala, sir," Sam quickly corrected.

"Right, Vala…that's what I meant," O'Neill quickly retorted. "I assume you still retain Qetesh's memories. You know of a fast way off this planet?"

Vala grew thoughtful. "We can't go back up into the ship. They would have sealed it off to prevent Lord Anubis from getting on. The space port isn't that far from here, but we'd have to fight our way through a legion of troops."

"I thought all of them were fighting Lord Anubis," Carson said.

"Mount Tanis is a very big place," Vala reminded him. "Neith could commit half the army here to fight Anubis and we would still be vastly outnumbered at the space port."

"What about the stargate?" Sam asked. "How far are we from that?"

"Too far," Vala said with a shake of her head. "Plus, that will be heavily guarded, as well."

"Yeah, but what about the _other_ stargate?" Sam pressed. "The one in the raptor maze?"

Vala looked taken aback by that. "Oh, I'd forgotten all about that one! Ba'al and Qetesh never used the raptor maze, at least not since you two"--and she gestured at Sam and Olivia--"escaped from that one game. The both of you almost caused quite an uprising, let me tell you!"

"Are we close enough to the raptor maze?" O'Neill asked.

"Oh, yeah, it's right by the east exit of this complex," Vala told them.

O'Neill nodded. "All right, that's where we're going, then. We head there and use the stargate at the center of the maze."

"Ah, but…wait, wait," Rodney said, nervously holding up a hand. "What about the raptors?"

O'Neill waved his zat. "We have guns, Dr. McKay. Unless the raptors are also packing heat, I doubt they'll be giving us much trouble."

"O'Neill," Teal'c said urgently. "We should go, now."

"I'm with you, T. Everybody, let's move!"

**SG-1: SVU**

When Belial awoke with a snarl, his Sons of Darkness fell back from him and all bowed respectfully. He quickly saw that they had removed him from the lab and had placed him on the floor of an adjacent room. The second thing that Belial noticed was the alarm blaring over the fact that Lord Anubis was now on the loose somewhere in Mount Tanis.

'Lord Anubis, damn him,' Belial thought, as he rose to his feet. 'And damn that dark-haired Tauri bitch Benson, who set him loose! When I get my hands on her, she shall be begging me for a swift and painless death.'

"Come with me," he commanded his Sons of Darkness, who escorted him to the central security area. This was where Belial had originally watched the Tauri prisoners on the security monitors.

The central security area was a mess of confusion and panic. Belial shoved several Jaffa out of his way as he strode up to the main collection of screens on a massive wall. He had stupidly lost control of the situation, and before he could regain control, Belial had to discover what was going on.

He saw Her Lord Empress Neith leading a sizable army of Jaffa down a corridor--no doubt she was leading the hunt for Lord Anubis. But something else, on a screen near the floor, had caught Belial's eye.

The Tauri warriors, now armed with staff weapons and zat guns, were all running down a corridor. Belial was actually happy to see this. Because recapturing the Tauri for Her Lord Empress Neith will more than make up for the Lord Anubis fiasco. At least, that was what he hoped.

"Where are they running to?" Belial asked his Sons of Darkness.

"East," Yoast replied, with a glance at the screen.

"East? Why are they running in that direction?" Belial asked, thinking aloud.

"It is an odd choice for them to make," Yoast agreed. "There's nothing in that direction but the raptor maze."

"Of course!" Belial said, as his hands clenched into fists. "They hope to use the stargate at the center of the maze!"

He ran to the center console and commanded the lead Jaffa there to shut down power to the stargate in the raptor maze.

But the Jaffa shook his head. "We do not have that ability, my Lord Belial--not from here."

"Very well," Belial said, straining to control his temper. "Then order the keepers of the maze to release _all _of the raptors into the maze right now."

The Jaffa's eyes grew wide at that. "My Lord, there are presently slaves working in the maze. They will be eaten alive!"

"All the better to properly motivate the raptors!" Belial snapped. "And if you do not make this happen, Jaffa, I shall make certain you are served as the raptors' first meal!"

Belial was pleased to see the Jaffa had quickly followed his orders as he strode out of the room with his Sons of Darkness in tow.

**SG-1: SVU**

"Damn it," Jack muttered, as he peered around the corner.

They were all pressed up against the wall behind him, and when Olivia snuck a look, she saw what got him so angry. There were several dozen slaves working in the maze. They were busy doing grunt work: grounds keeping, fixing the maze walls and even raking the sandy floor to keep it level.

"I don't want to have to fight these people, if I can avoid it," Jack said.

"We have Zats," Sheppard pointed out. "We can still shoot them without killing them."

"Yeah, but I'd like to even avoid doing that, if I can," Jack replied. "These people are just unarmed civilians."

Olivia followed the hushed conversation intently--until she saw Daniel was giving her an odd look. "What?" she asked.

He stood up just then and held out his hand. "Liv, come here. Sam, you too."

Olivia and Sam exchanged a puzzled look before they got up and walked over to him. Daniel was staring at the both of them critically. "Um, the last time you guys were here, you were both dressed like Sam is now, right?"

"Yeah," Sam replied warily. "Why?"

Daniel just nodded thoughtfully as he stared at Olivia's clothes. "It should still work," he said. "There's shouldn't be any need for you to strip, Liv."

She stared at him wide-eyed. "Strip?! Daniel, what the _hell _are you talking about?"

"Good question," Jack spoke up. "Exactly what do you have in mind, Daniel?"

"Uh, if my plan works, Jack, we should just be able to waltz straight on through the maze without any resistance from the workers."

When Daniel laid it all out, Jack nodded. Then he turned to Olivia and said, "Let's make sure this plan has every best possible chance to work. Liv, strip down to just your tank top and pants, please."

"I don't frigging believe this," Olivia muttered, as she pulled off her boots, then her socks. She gave an angry glare at Daniel. "This had better work!"

"If it doesn't, we'll be right behind you," Jack assured her. He turned to the group and added, "Sheppard, you take the right flank with Emmuas and Satterfield. Teal'c, you'll be with Hailey and me on the left. Anything looks even slightly hinky, we drop everybody. Got it?"

"Yes, sir," Sheppard said--as he, Emmaus and Satterfield took up their positions.

"The rest of you wait back here," Jack told the others. "Only move when we say it's clear."

"Would somebody please take my head for me?" Sam asked, as she removed the sack from her shoulder. Then she frowned. "Um, wait, that didn't sound right, did it?"

That caused Olivia to burst into laughter as she handed Daniel her clothing and gear. Standing barefoot as she was in the sand of the raptor maze--a place where she had very narrowly lost her life--she really needed the laugh.

Jacob came up and took the sack from his daughter.

Daniel, who stood in between Olivia and Sam, said, "Ready?"

"No," Olivia nervously said. "But let's go, anyway."

Daniel took each woman by the hand and led them around the corner and into the raptor maze. They only took a few steps before they were noticed by the slaves. Daniel then stopped, took a step back and held up his hands in an overly theatrical manner.

"BEHOLD!" he exclaimed. "THE TAURI HEROES!"

The slaves all stared at them expectedly. While they were both dressed as they were back when they were first here, Olivia hoped these people recognized them. She also kept an anxious eye out for raptors.

"Uh, hi," Sam said to the slaves, with a sheepish wave.

Olivia shyly joined in. "Yeah, um, hi."

Both women were startled when one of the slaves--a male--got to his knees and screamed at the top of his lungs: "TAURI!"

For the first time in her life, Olivia got the sensation of what it was like to be a rock star as all of the slaves got to their feet and began a marathon adoration session. She glanced at Sam, who looked just as uncomfortable as she felt.

"Daniel, Sam, Liv, nice work," Jack said, as he came out from around the corner. "Ok, let's go!"

All of them started running towards the entrance of the maze. "If I remember correctly," Liv said, "we went to the left, and then we--"

Teal'c held up his staff weapon and fired several times, creating a hole large enough in the maze wall for all of them to step through. Once they were through, Teal'c--now aided by Sheppard, Emmuas, Jack, Grace and Jennnifer--blasted another hole in the wall directly in front of them. They ignored the maze design by blasting through each wall right in front of them, going straight through to the stargate.

"This is better," Olivia commented happily to Daniel. Then she let out a gasp when she saw that one of the slaves was a timid young boy who looked to be no more than ten years of age. "Oh, you poor thing! Come on, honey, you're coming with us."

"Yeah, everybody, come with us," Daniel called to the rest of the slaves. "Come on!"

The slaves were only too happy to ditch their meager tools and join the heroes of the raptor maze. As Teal'c and the others blasted their way through another wall, Olivia helped the others to round up the slaves and herd them into the maze.

Then she saw something that scared her.

Glancing up at the stands, she saw a row of black-clad figures staring down at them.

'Oh, God, Belial!' she thought with dread.

"Hey, everybody," Rodney said, as he pointed at Belial in a panic. "Look out! It's Lord what's-his-face!"

**SG-1: SVU**

"Why have the raptors not been released?!" Belial demanded.

Yoast pointed into the maze. "The slaves are escaping with the Tauri!"

"Then never mind the raptors," Belial said, as he turned to the squad of Anubis soldiers who stood behind them. "Get down there and kill everyone in that maze!"

With a unified roar, the more than two dozen Anubis soldiers instantly responded by leaping over the side, and directly down upon their prey.

**SG-1: SVU**

"Wonderful," O'Neill muttered, when he saw Belial had unleashed his dog-faced goon squad on them. He glanced at the raptor pens, which were directly below the onslaught, and got an idea.

"FIRE INTO THE PENS!" O'Neill ordered. "NOW!"

"But won't that release the raptors?!" Jacob asked.

"That's the idea," O'Neill replied, as he used his staff weapon to blast the lock from the gates of a raptor pen. "A little more chaos!"

**SG-1: SVU**

"Look at those fools," Belial said smugly, as he watched the Anubis soldiers deftly land in the arena. "They are so panicked by the Anubis soldiers, that they are firing in a blind panic all over the--"

Belial stopped speaking when one of the Anubis soldiers was abruptly attacked from behind by a raptor, who landed on his back and ripped his head off in one fell swoop. Two more raptors emerged and charged on a group of Anubis soldiers, knocking them down and viscously ripping them to shreds with their claws.

Belial watched, horrified, as the Anubis soldiers quickly became so overwhelmed by the onslaught of the raptors that they completely ignored the Tauri and began fighting for their lives against the over-sized reptiles.

**SG-1: SVU**

Once the melee between the raptors and the Anubis warriors was in full swing, O'Neill ordered everybody through the hole in the wall. Then, when they were safely inside, he used his staff weapon to blast the upper arc of the hole, which caused the wall to collapse, instantly creating a barrier of rubble between them and the battle outside.

"Smooth, Jack," Jacob said with admiration, "real smooth."

"Don't thank me yet," O'Neill replied, as he stepped through the next hole. "Wait until we're all home safe and sound."

As they kept stepping through one hole in the wall after the other, O'Neill was pleased to see that Teal'c and the others had kept on blasting their way straight through the maze with their staff weapons until they reached the stargate.

Sam had already dialed it up, and it came to life with the customary flash of the event horizon.

"This stargate only dials out to a deserted planet, sir," Sam reported, as she once more shouldered the sack, with its grisly, still-wiggling cargo. "But we can gate directly to earth from there. Both Liv and Daniel still have their GDOs."

"Excellent," O'Neill said. He glanced at the more than three dozen slaves--most of whom were merely children--and nodded. "Then let's get this show on the road! Everybody get through the gate now!"

**SG-1: SVU**

Lord Belial watched helpessly as the last remaining people in the Tauri party had rapidly stepped through the stargate. O'Neill and the rebel Jaffa had remained behind as a rear guard, and as they quickly strode towards the gate, O'Neill turned and stared directly back at Belial.

Then O'Neill smiled broadly as he held up his hand, which was balled into a fist--save for the middle finger, which was stuck straight up at Belial.

"What does that gesture mean?" Yoast asked, confused.

"An insult of some sort, what else?" Belial muttered, as he watched O'Neill and the Jaffa step into the stargate. Some how, some way, Belial will once again meet up with O'Neill, his woman friend Sam, and the others from SG-1--and when he did, Belial will truly make them all suffer. Oh, yes, he will. This he swore to do, even if it cost him his life.

He glanced down at the maze arena, at the sight of the raptors snacking happily on the body parts of the ravaged Anubis soldiers. The fact that the body parts were still moving did not bother the raptors in the slightest.

"It would appear that the Anubis soldiers have finally met their match," Belial said thoughtfully.

When he heard shouts of "Tauri!" all over the arena, Belial glanced up and saw several hundred slaves--all of whom had been working in the seating areas--screaming and shouting for joy as they trashed their tools and merrily chanted the word Tauri over and over again. Apparently they had just witnessed the sight of SG-1 making their bold escape, and the Mount Tanis underground rebel movement, which had just been so stringently quelled, had now been reignited with a renewed fury.

"Wonderful, just wonderful," Belial said with disgust. "Just how much worse can this day get?"

"LORD BELIAL!" a familiar female voice said from behind him.

Belial turned to see Her Lord Empress Neith standing there in her full armor, flanked by a small army of Jaffa--along with her new lapdog, Lord Ba'al, by her side.

"Lord Belial," Neith said. Her eyes were aflame with such a rage that it was frightening to behold. "What, in the name of Pluto, is going on here?"

Belial quickly sought to find the words, but literally he did not know where to begin. And for the first time in his life, Lord Belial--the leader of the Sons Of Darkness--had found himself quite speechless.

**To be continued....**


	12. Chapter 12

_I'd like to thank those of you who've placed either me, or this story, on your favorites list. I appreciate it. _

**Stargate SVU 3**

**Chapter Twelve**

General Hammond leaned forward and wearily placed his hands on the conference table. There had been times in his career when he'd received some very bad new while seated at this table. But right now, what he'd just heard from Dr. Fraiser and Char'el was probably the worst piece of news that he'd received in a long while.

"Lord Anubis has been cloned," Hammond said, repeating what Fraiser had just told them. "And the clone troops have the same powers and invincibility as the original. _And_ they're all under the command of a revived Neith. Wonderful. Just wonderful."

Elizabeth, who sat beside Hammond with a look of dread, just shook her head dismally. "Walter was right. Just when you think it can't get any worse around here, it does."

"Excuse me, Doctor Fraiser," Colonel Drumlin spoke up. "But would either you or Char'el have an idea of their numbers? Are we talking about the clones being an elite force within the Netian Empire? Or would you say they were far greater in size than that?"

Fraiser deferred to Char'el, who said, "Their numbers are larger than that of an elite force, Colonel Drumlin. From what we could see, they appear to be taking over from the Jaffa in all warrior duties. Even sentry duties."

"That's not good, sir," Major Lyman muttered.

"No, it's not, Bobby," Drumlin agreed. He glanced at Hammond. "I'd like permission to upgrade the weaponry for SG-3, General. In the face of this new threat, we'll need guns that pack more of a punch."

"You've got it," Hammond told him. "Whatever you need, Colonel Drumlin, just ask the armory for it. And if they don't have it, we'll get it. Also, it might be prudent to expand SG-3 by calling in your reserves. And keep them all on full alert status for the time being."

Drumlin nodded. "I was just thinking the very same thing, sir. Consider it done."

"I have one good piece of news," Hammond said. "Thanks to the breakthrough from Doctors Lee and Zelenka with the ZPM, the Prometheus has passed all of her trial flights and is now fully operational. I'm told that all of our 302 pilots are presently training in landing and take off maneuvers from her flight decks in high orbit above us right now."

"Superb job, gentlemen!" Elizabeth told the two scientists, who sat beside Dr. Fraiser and Char'el at the table.

For their part, Zelenka and Lee appeared embarrassed when everyone burst into a round of light applause.

"I just wish Rodney was here," Zelenka said sadly.

"I wish we didn't leave everybody behind," Fraiser said. "I still feel bad about that."

"No, you both did the right thing, Doctor, Char'el," Hammond informed them. "You returned to the SGC and updated us on a very dangerous situation."

"And the fact that the Netian Empire's now got new, invincible clone troops is a development that we really needed to know," Drumlin added. "We really appreciate you giving us the heads up."

"Io'tan said that she and the Ha'tyl would arrive soon," Elizabeth said hopefully. "And once they arrive, they should be a big help to us in setting up a rescue mission to find the others on Mount Tanis."

Hammond was about to agree with her, and to further go over the rescue plan--until the alarm was set off throughout the base.

"Incoming traveler!" Walter announced over the intercom. "General Hammond, Dr. Weir, please report to the gate room."

When all of them arrived in the control room downstairs, Walter turned in his seat at the main console with a smile. "It's SG-1, sir! Their IDC checks out."

"Thank God," Hammond muttered. Now this was the best piece of new he'd heard all day. "Open the iris."

Once the iris was opened, Hammond was pleased to see Dr. Jackson, Major Carter and Agent Benson come through the gate with Lieutenants Hailey and Satterfield. Then his smile broadened when he saw Major Sheppard, Sgt Emmaus, Dr. Beckett, Jacob Carter and Dr. McKay step into the gate room.

Then Hammond stared in astonishment as several dozen scantily clad men, women and children all stepped through the event horizon. Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c finally stepped through, and when O'Neill made a slashing gesture across his throat, Walter quickly shut down the gate and resealed the iris.

"CASEY!" Char'el shouted with joy, just before he ran out of the gate room.

Hammond smiled when he saw Char'el run into the gate room and lift a joyous Casey Novak in his arms. She was clad only in standard, skimpy Netian Empire slave garb, but otherwise appeared to be just fine. Casey and Char'el kissed each other passionately.

"Walter, I want a full medical team here," Fraiser said, as she left to join the others in the gate room. "On the double. And tell them to prepare for refugees."

"Yes, Major."

As Hammond, Elizabeth and the others also left the control room, Hammond could not help but notice a slight spring in Elizabeth's step.

"Good having everybody back home safe, isn't it?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied with a grin, as they entered the gate room. "And then some!"

"Welcome home, Marine," Major Lyman said to a smiling Sgt. Emmaus.

"Good to be home, sirs," she happily replied, as she saluted him and Colonel Drumlin in greeting.

"You see what happens when you run off and hang out with these Air Force types, Sergeant?" Drumlin said jokingly. "You get into nothing but trouble!"

Hammond watched as Major Sheppard walked over towards Elizabeth and nodded stiffly at her in greeting. "Dr. Weir. Good to see you again."

"Yes, Major," Elizabeth said crisply. She appeared to be restraining her enthusiasm. "It is also very good to…oh, to hell with it!"

Sheppard looked stunned when she abruptly hugged him right there, in the middle of the gate room.

"Now that you're back home safe, I'm going to do what I should have done before you left," Elizabeth said, just before she kissed Sheppard passionately. Sheppard, taken aback at first, gladly gave into the moment.

Hammond thought it best to give them some privacy. He continued walking among the crowded gate room, taking in the joyous atmosphere with a pleased look on his face.

"The one place in the universe that I _didn't_ want to go back to," McKay was telling Lee and Zelenka as Hammond strode past them, "and there I was once again! Back on Mount Tanis--complete with raptors, mad tyrants and space princesses!"

"Space princesses!" Zelenka said with a start. "Really? You mean Casey Novak?"

"Yeah, she's right over there," Rodney pointed her out. "You want me to introduce you?"

"Now? Really?" Zelenka nervously asked, as McKay led him over to Casey. "How does my hair look?"

Hammond walked past a group of the Mount Tanis refugees, who had surrounded Major Carter and Agent Benson and had bowed down before them while chanting "Tauri" over and over again. Dr. Jackson watched with fascination as Benson and Carter, who were both stripped of their footwear, BDU shirts and gear, were busy trying to get the refugees to stop worshipping them, but to no avail.

Their lack of clothing was cause for concern for Hammond, who asked, "Are you two all right?"

"Fine, sir," Major Carter replied, with a shy smile. She gestured at the sack over her shoulder, which wiggled strangely. "It's just been another wild ride on Mount Tanis, sir."

"So it would seem," Hammond replied, as he watched Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c stride over to him. "Welcome back, Colonel."

"Great to be back, sir," O'Neill said with a smile. "And, by the way, Lord Belial and the Sons Of Darkness send their love."

Hammond couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Meeting new friends again, Colonel?"

"Always, sir," O'Neill said. "You know what a friendly guy I am!"

Teal'c merely glowered at him with one eyebrow raised in consternation.

"And it looks like I'm not the only one who's making friends," O'Neill added, with a gesture at something behind Hammond.

Hammond glanced back and was startled to see Dr. Zelenka respectfully bow down on one knee as he took Casey's hand in his own. For her part, Casey looked equally shocked at this behavior.

She said something to him, and when Zelenka--who was still on his knee--replied, Casey roared, "A SPACE PRINCESS?! Who told you I was a space princess?!"

When Zelenka meekly answered her question, Casey looked up and glared around the gate room like a predator looking for her prey. "_RODNEY_!"

"Can't talk! Gotta go!" Rodney called back, as he hurried out of the gate room. He bumped into the medical team as they arrived in the gate room and began looking over the refugees.

A still-angry Casey actually looked as if she was about to give chase after Rodney--until Char'el grabbed her by her bare shoulders and gently soothed her.

"Oooo, Rodney's in trouble," O'Neill said. "Space princesses are not known for having much mercy towards their enemies."

"Janet," Major Carter called, as she held up the sack for her. "This is for you."

"What is it?" Fraiser asked, as she accepted the wriggling sack with an anxious look.

"The severed head of an Anubis warrior," Sam replied.

"Oh, gee, Sam, really?" Fraiser sarcastically replied. "You shouldn't have…."

"Hey, what are friends for?" Sam shot back. "Seriously, if we can get the mechanism out of the head that controls the clone--"

Fraiser nodded. "Right. Way ahead of you, Sam."

Fraiser called over one of the nurses. "TJ! Take this for me, please? And be careful with it. It's the severed head of an Anubis warrior, and is tactically valuable."

"Got it, doctor," TJ replied, as she took the sack from her.

Hammond, realizing the potential of what the severed head could give them, turned to O'Neill and said, "Superb work on bringing that back, Colonel."

"You should thank Carter for that, sir. It was actually all her idea."

Fraiser turned to her medical staff. "If the Mount Tanis people are clear to move on their own, I would like everybody to start moving out of the gate room, please. Let's all get to the infirmary?"

Yet Hammond noted that the worshipping group of refugees ignored the pleas to leave from the medical staff, instead choosing to remain with Agent Benson and Major Carter. Olivia exchanged a wary glance with Dr. Jackson. Then she raised her hands high and said, "Everyone, please come with me to the infirmary! Let's go, folks! Uh, Sam, you mind helping me, here?"

Hammond smiled as Major Carter joined Agent Benson in leading the refugees out of the gate room like a pair of pied pipers.

"Where are these people from, Colonel?" Hammond asked.

"They're slave laborers from the raptor maze on Mount Tanis," he replied. "We paid another visit to it today, and decided to bring these nice folk back home with us."

Hammond did a double take at a black-haired woman who looked ravishing in a skimpy slave outfit. But she wasn't just attractive; she also looked very familiar to him. "Isn't that woman Qetesh?!"

"Not anymore," Teal'c replied. "The Qetesh Goa'uld has been removed from her, General Hammond. Her real name is Vala Mal Doran."

"And she's been a big help to us on Mount Tanis, sir," O'Neill added. "With her knowledge of the inner workings of the Netian Empire, she'll be a valuable asset in the future."

"I see." Hammond turned to O'Neill and said, "I must say that I'm really looking forward to the debriefing on _this_ mission, Colonel."

O'Neill nodded. "And we're looking forward to telling it, sir. In fact, Teal'c is planning on using shadow puppets as a visual aid!"

"Indeed?" Teal'c intoned, with a sideways look at O'Neill that said he thought his friend was crazy.

Once the refugees had left the gate room, everyone else begun to clear out as well, and all were headed for their checkup at the infirmary. Hammond, Colonel O'Neill and Teal'c were among the last to leave--yet as they walked towards the door, a cry of terror had stopped them.

"OH MY GOD!"

Hammond turned back and saw the young nurse, Lt. Johansson--better known as 'TJ' to her friends--had glanced in the sack that contained the severed head of the Anubis warrior.

"The head," she said with repulsion "It's-it's still alive! I-It's moving!"

"Yes, they do that," O'Neill told the aghast lieutenant. "They're really hard to kill."

"Excuse my outburst, sir," TJ said, as she quickly closed the sack up. "But, frankly, I'm amazed at how calm you are with something so weird like this!"

As they all strode out of the gate room, O'Neill gaily said, "Just another day at the office, Lieutenant."

**SG-1: SVU**

"Talon 9, we have you on visual approach. The flight deck is free and clear, Major; you may proceed at your discretion."

Mitchell smiled. "Rodger that Prometheus. Keep the barn doors open and the coffee warm, I'm coming in."

Mitchell swung his 302 fighter in a tight dive as he expertly brought it into alignment with the starboard flight deck of the Prometheus, which was in orbit above earth.

From the angle that Mitchell came in, the sun was just emerging from behind the darkened globe, and it brilliantly backlit the massive starship--which already glittered in the darkness with its own lights. The sight was a damned impressive one, and for a farm boy who grew up reading and watching plenty of science fiction, Mitchell just couldn't believe his luck. He was actually a space fighter pilot who was about to bring his bird in for a landing on the first, completely earth-built starship.

'Hot damn, it just don't get any better than this!' Mitchell thought excitedly.

Well, it would have been really cool if they had been allowed to create their own call signs--anything other than the boring 'Talon 1' and onwards numbered names that each pilot had been given. Mitchell would have loved to have chosen Red Five, or even Apollo, as his call sign.

'But if this is as perfect as life gets,' Mitchell thought, as he brought his 302 in for a perfect landing on the flight deck, 'then I'll gladly take it!'

He parked his bird, powered it down, and popped the canopy. Mitchell saw Colonel Newell stride over with the other 302 pilots. "Good work, Major," he said. "You're the last one aboard."

"Thank you kindly, sir," Mitchell replied as he started to pull himself out of the cockpit.

"Don't get out just yet, Major," Newell told him. "Because we're all going to practice a combat take off--starting right now."

The other pilots all groaned slightly as they raced back to their fighters. Mitchell just smiled as he strapped himself in once more and resealed the canopy around him.

'Looks like that coffee will have to wait,' he thought happily. 'For the vast blackness of space beckons once more to Mama Mitchell's little boy!'

**SG-1: SVU**

Ba'al glanced all around the arena with a mixture of fear and awe. All about him, the rioting and treasonous acts committed by the slaves were being brutally brought to a halt by the Jaffa. Once she had seen the sight of the slave revolt--all of whom had been emboldened thanks to yet another escape through the raptor maze stargate by SG-1--Neith had commanded the arena to be sealed off and all of the slaves, every last one of them, to be killed.

And while the Anubis troops that he had cloned had proven themselves to be quite fearsome, Ba'al was once more reminded of the ruthless ferocity of the typical Jaffa foot soldier, as he watched every last riotous slave be killed by them. Perhaps it was for the best that the child slaves had all worked in the maze, and were all thus spared this massacre when SG-1 whisked them away in the stargate.

'It was smart thinking on the part of Neith,' Ba'al realized, as he watched two slaves get gunned down by the staff weapons of the Jaffa. 'Seal off the arena and kill off every single slave who saw the second escape--lest they spread the news, and further insurrection, across the rest of Mount Tanis and the Empire.'

Neith had further ordered Lord Belial and his Anubis troops to track down the enraged Lord Anubis, who was still on the loose--yet Belial had strict orders not to engage Lord Anubis in combat, just to report his location. Belial, who had been made a complete fool of by SG-1, was only too happy to return to the graces of Her Lord Empress Neith by doing what she commanded.

Ba'al was startled when a male slave, who had been running from the Jaffa in pursuit of him, came to a dead stop before him. He was sweaty, and breathing hard from running. He stared at Ba'al and Neith with fear.

His fear was well-founded, for Neith casually pulled out a knife from somewhere on her armor and deftly flung it at the man.

The slave let out a pained groan as the knife landed dead center in his chest. Then he toppled over the side of the railing, his body landing in the raptor area below.

'I really _must_ make sure I stay on her good side,' Ba'al told himself, as he stared fearfully at Neith.

For her part, Neith stared thoughtfully into the raptor pit while the monsters ripped apart the body of the slave whom she had just killed. "This raptor maze is far more trouble than it is worth," she finally said. "I want it razed, and the stargate moved to a more secure location."

"As you wish, my Lord Empress," Ba'al quickly replied. "I assume you wish for all the raptors to be put to death, as well?"

But what she said surprised Ba'al. "No. Keep the maze raptors alive for now. I have an…errand for them to do for me."

She then stared at Ba'al in that predatory manner of hers, which literally sent shivers down his spine. "The raptors will be sent on a very special errand, Ba'al. One that Lord Belial, or any of the Anubis troops whom he commands, need not know about."

Ba'al glanced down into the pit and saw the raptors were still feasting upon the ripped apart bodies of several Anubis soldiers. It occurred to him that, other than Lord Anubis, the raptors were the only thing on Mount Tanis that were able to effectively subdue the Anubis troops.

And then, in that instant, Ba'al realized what was going through Neith's mind. And if anyone could pull off such an audacious plan, he realized it would be this magnificent woman.

"Do you understand, Ba'al?" Neith asked, as a slight smile crept across her face.

"Perfectly, my Lord Empress," Ba'al replied, with his own smile. "I understand perfectly. You can count on me."

**SG-1: SVU**

"Ok," Janet said, "are we ready?"

TJ nodded. "Ready, Doctor."

"Ready as we'll ever be," Carson replied skeptically. "You think our 'patient' is ready?"

Janet glanced down at the severed head of the Anubis soldier, which lay on an operating table, still writhing and squirming as much as it could. The head was secured to the table with straps, its jaws placed in a muzzle, which enabled Janet to perform surgery to remove the chip within its head.

Scanning images of the inside of the Anubis warrior's head done earlier had proved to be quite fascinating, at least from a medical standpoint. There were no blood vessels, and no blood at all. The 'brain' was largely a shapeless mass of brain cells that made up the largest part of the back of the head. And there was no skull to speak of; just the formless mass of brain cells underneath the tough hide that was the skin. The chip was placed dead center in the brain mass. It was an oval-shaped device that the scanners showed to be still active.

'If only we could somehow learn how the Anubis warriors heal themselves,' Janet thought. 'We could apply it to human physiology.'

"Oh my God," TJ said softly.

Janet looked over at her with alarm. "What is it?"

"His neck," TJ replied, pointing.

"What about his neck?" Carson asked.

"It wasn't there before," TJ said with a shudder. "Am I crazy, doctors, or is this head growing a new body?"

Janet picked up the ruler and re-measured the stump that jutted out from underneath the head. When she compared the new measurements to the ones she had taken earlier, Janet was stunned to see that the neck had grown at least two more inches than when she'd last examined it.

"Well, the good news, TJ, is that you are _not_ crazy," Janet said, as she placed the ruler back down on the side table.

Carson stared at her with wide eyes. "You mean to tell me that this bugger's growing a new body?"

Janet let out a weary sigh. There was so much about this creature that remained a mystery. "I suppose time will tell, Carson. But the neck is longer than it was before."

The door to the operating room opened and Sam entered, once more fully dressed in her standard BDU. Hailey was with her. "Did we miss anything?" Sam eagerly asked.

"Not at all, Sam. In fact, we were just about to start." Janet turned to Carson and said, "Scalpel."

Carson placed the knife in her gloved hand.

Janet held the scalpel directly over the marked area on the scalp of the severed head. There was no skull--no bone--to cut through, so a bone saw was not needed here. It should be a simple procedure.

But the constant wiggling of the head had not only distracted her, it unnerved Janet. It gave her the unpleasant feeling of operating on an awake patient against their will, as if she were engaged in some sort of sadistic torture experiment.

Janet's hand wavered over the skin, and she quickly felt her resolve to perform this procedure melt away. "The constant moving is driving me nuts," Janet said, as she backed away from the table. "A patient is usually put under when I operate, and they're certainly not writhing around like this! It's creeping me out."

"Haven't you considered knocking it out?" Hailey asked.

"It's got no lungs, love," Carson reminded her. "That pretty much rules out using an anesthetic in this situation."

"What about injecting--no, wait," Sam said with a shake of her head, "that still won't stop it from wiggling around."

"We still injected it with a numbing agent," Janet told her. "So that it won't feel any pain. But, as you can see, it's still wiggling away."

"And we're still not really sure if this thing can even feel pain to begin with," TJ added.

"Maybe if I stunned it with a Zat?" Hailey offered. "That might knock it out long enough for you to retrieve the chip?"

"The Zat hits didn't even slow these things down in combat situations," Sam said.

"But there's not that much of it to shoot this time," Hailey countered. "The charge from the Zat may be enough to put it under for at least long enough for Dr. Fraiser to do what she needs to do."

Now Janet shook her head. "But the charge from the Zat might also destroy the chip in the process. Carson, get me some towels."

"To wrap it up? Aye, that's a good idea. If ye want, I'll hold it for you while you work."

"Let's just see if wrapping it up is enough, first."

When Carson returned, he had several clean folded towels in his hands, which he used to wrap up the head like a mummy. He left the top of the head exposed, right where Janet was supposed to cut so that she could retrieve the chip.

Once the head was fully wrapped, it was clear that the towels did nothing to calm the creature--it still writhed and wiggled as best it could. Janet was finally able to work once Carson and TJ offered to hold the wrapped head still with both of their hands.

Yet cutting into skin that still moved under her blade was a hard process for Janet. She gritted herself and got the job done. Nobody was more grateful than Janet when she finally pulled out the still-working chip with a pair of tweezers.

Sam accepted the chip, which Janet had placed into a Petri dish for her, with a smile of gratitude. "Thanks, Janet. Hey, you available? Hailey and I could use some medical advice while we examine this thing."

"Sure, just give me a minute to change out of my scrubs," Janet told her. She glanced up at the observation windows and saw General Hammond, Colonel O'Neill, Dr. Weir and Mr. Woolsey at staring down at them. She noticed that Woolsey didn't look too well, as he held a handkerchief over his mouth. "Mr. Woolsey, are you all right?"

Janet smiled as Woolsey just gave her a slight nod. "Fine, Doctor. Superb work, all of you."

"Doctor Fraiser," TJ said, as she took a step back from the operating table.

Janet saw what TJ had pointed at. After a slight pause, the head had abruptly began to wiggle and squirm with a renewed furor. It appeared to be far more intense than before.

"Let's get this back under the scanner," Janet told Carson and TJ. "I want to see how different the brainwave patterns are now, compared to when we scanned it while it still had the chip."

TJ nodded. "Right away, doctor."

"Hey, doc?"

Janet glanced back up at the observation window. "Yes, Colonel?"

"I couldn't help but notice earlier that you guys said it might be growing a new body?" O'Neill asked.

"Yes, we did."

O'Neill nodded grimly. "And so this thing might soon have a fully formed body, only without the chip, making it just as crazy as big daddy Anubis?"

"Oh…my…God," Janet muttered, appalled at the notion that Colonel O'Neill had just brought up. "We'll have to keep this thing under close observation, and securely strapped down at all times."

"And you should also look into ways of disposing it," General Hammond said. "Permanently."

"Yes, sir."

Everyone immediately left the operating room. Sam and Hailey left with the chip, Carson wheeled the head back to the scanner, and Janet and TJ stepped into the locker rooms to change. When Janet emerged from her private changing room, now dressed in her standard BDU, she went over to check herself in the mirrors above the sinks. TJ was there, having already changed back into her uniform.

"Well, that was really weird," TJ commented.

"That's space medicine for you," Janet replied. "If you want normal medicine, you can always go work in a regular hospital."

"Work in a normal hospital? Are you kidding?" TJ said with a smile. "And miss out on all the good stuff, like still-living, severed alien heads? No way!"

**SG-1: SVU**

"Rodney, are you ok?" Bill asked.

McKay nodded. He sat in a recliner by the wall in their lab. "I'm fine. I just want to soak it all in."

Zelenka stared at him in puzzlement. "Soak what in? There's nothing going on."

"Yes, that's just it," Rodney said, with a nod. "I want to just enjoy the peace and quiet, for a change."

Zelenka leaned on the table in front of Rodney and said, "So, did you get a chance to boink Sgt. Emmaus?"

Rodney just glared at him. "No! I was too busy running for my life! You know, I'll consider myself lucky if I don't have nightmares! It's bad enough to deal with the regular Goa'uld, who are scary enough, but that Lord Belial--his looks alone are enough to give me the heebie-jeebies!"

Zelenka looked confused. "Heebie--what?"

"He means that Lord Belial really scared him," Bill translated. He glanced at Rodney and added, "You really think Neith will come after earth, like they were all talking about in the briefing before?"

Rodney thought back to the briefing in the conference room earlier, which he had spent studiously avoiding Casey's hate-filled glares. "I don't know. Neith was killed by SG-1; and she might want to take revenge for that. At least that's the general feeling with everybody involved. Better to be safe than sorry, right?"

"But the Asgard will protect us," Zelenka said. "Won't they?"

"We still haven't been able to _reach_ the Asgard," Rodney told them. He got up from the chair and went to the main table, where he absently examined the opaque tablets that SG-1 brought back from the Mumani temple. "The Asgard have been so busy fighting the replicators that they can't even return our calls! As far as we know, their protection of earth may only be a smoke screen."

Bill's eyes looked very wide behind his glasses. "Now I'm starting to wonder if the Prometheus will be enough."

"Of course it won't be enough!" Rodney said with annoyance. "You think if Neith wants to squash earth, she's only gonna bring one ship? Of course not! The Prometheus will be vastly outnumbered by the fleet that she'll have parked in…orbit…of…."

Rodney glanced closer at the edge of one of the tablets and saw that there was a square-shaped slot on the edge. He checked the other tablets and saw that every one of them had the same thing. "You guys notice this?"

"Yeah," Bill said. "We think they might be for cataloging. You notice they're not in the same place on each tablet?"

"Yeah, but…they look like slots," Rodney said thoughtfully.

His examination came to an abrupt end when Casey stormed into the room. Fully dressed in a blue BDU, she glared at him with full-bore hatred as she clenched her hands into fists. "Do you think it's easy?!" she asked angrily.

"Um, excuse us," Zelenka said, as he and Bill quickly evacuated the lab, leaving a stunned Rodney alone with Casey.

"Uh, pardon me?" a confused Rodney asked Casey.

She looked as if she were about to burst into tears. "I'm trying my best, here! I really am, Rodney! I find out there's a far greater conflict being fought, one where the fate of my entire planet hangs in the balance, and I try my best to help out as best I can! And I really don't need you telling people that I'm some kind of a half-naked floozy!"

"Oh, God, no," Rodney said, feeling like the lowest of the low. "Casey, I never meant it that way!"

Now Casey had begun to cry. "It's bad enough that I'm such a screw up that I keep needing to be rescued, but I really don't need this from you!"

"No, of course not," Rodney said gently. "I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt your feelings. It will never happen again."

"I hope so." She angrily grabbed an unused power cord from a naquadah generator that sat on the table. "Because, so help me, if I hear you spreading anymore lies about me, I will shove this up your ass!"

"No, no, you are absolutely correct!" Rodney quickly told her. "I was dead wrong, and I apologise. Please accept my apology. I'm very sorry, Casey."

He meekly handed her a box of tissues, which Casey eventually accepted. Rodney was pleased to see that she had stopped crying.

"And, um, you're wrong, you know," he told her.

She glanced up at him while she rubbed her nose with a tissue. "What?"

"I mean about being a screw up," he said. "You're wrong. You're not a screw up, Casey. Far from it."

"Then why does SG-1 have to keep pulling my ass out of the fire?" she asked with a chuckle.

"SG-1 has been captured themselves, too," Rodney said. "It happens to the best of us--hey, even to me!"

She laughed at that. "You really do have quite a high opinion of yourself, don't you?"

"Yeah, well, I'm still realistic enough to know that even I'm not perfect," he replied. "Um, just don't tell Bill and Zelenka that I said that, ok?"

"Your secret's safe with me," she said.

"Seriously, um, I really admire the fact that you're out there, doing whatever you can to help earth. That takes guts, Casey. Something which you have plenty of."

She smiled broadly. "Thanks. I really appreciate it."

He was about to tell her not to mention it when a thought hit him like a bolt of lightning "Stick it up my ass…."

"What?" Casey asked, giving him a strange look.

Rodney picked up the power cord from the Naquadah generator. "You mentioned sticking this up my ass, Casey…."

"Yeah, well, I was upset, Rodney. I didn't really mean--"

"Oh, no, no, no," he said, shaking his head. "It's not that. It's just that you gave me an idea."

"I did?" she replied, sounding surprised. "How?"

Rodney took one of the tablets and peered into the slot. "A receptor," he said excitedly. "This could be an energy receptor!"

"Oh, really?" Casey said, yet the look on her face made it clear she really had no idea what he was talking about.

Rodney stuck the end of the power cord from the Naquadah generator into the slot, but it was too small. After some trial and error, Rodney managed to work up a make-shift connection head for the tip of the power cord. It was able to slide snugly into the slot with a clicking sound.

Rodney switched on the generator to the lowest setting. Once he did this, the entire tablet, which lay flat on the table, began to glow.

"Um, is that thing supposed to do that?" Casey asked, as she nervously backed away from the table.

"I sure hope so," Rodney said, as he fired up the generator to full power.

The tablet glowed so brilliantly that, for a moment, Rodney thought it was going to explode. Casey had even grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away from the table.

Yet the tablet suddenly projected a 3D image into the air directly above it. Rodney was stunned to see that it looked to be some sort of a map of some kind, which showed, in a glowing emerald grid work fashion, what looked like the interior of a temple.

When Rodney reached out and delicately touched the 3D image, he saw that he could actually move it around with just the slightest touch. "Hey, this is cool!" he said excitedly.

"But what is it?" Casey asked, also sounding amazed.

"I don't know exactly, Casey," Rodney said, as he gazed at the image of the temple on the table before them. "But I have a very strong feeling that the hunt for Atlantis is back on."

**To Be Continued....**


	13. Chapter 13

_My thanks to Mia Rose 156 and M.C. Herrera for their kind words. My thanks also to those of you who either favored or placed this story on your alert lists._

**Stargate: SVU**

**Chapter Thirteen**

"Where is he?" Neith asked, the moment Belial entered the throne room.

"The central corridor of the main administrative building," Lord Belial reported with a bow. "My Anubis troops and I have done what you have asked, my Lord Empress Neith--we have not engaged him in battle. However, I must say that Lord Anubis has inflicted many causalities on the administrative level."

Neith dismissively waved her hand. "They are mere bureaucrats; they are easily replaced. Is Lord Anubis secured?"

"Yes, my Lord Empress, the emergency doors in that corridor are heavy blast shields, designed to withstand a full-scale battle. It will take Lord Anubis quite some time to break through."

Neith got up from the throne and consulted a digitized map of the floor plan with Belial that arose and floated above the floor.

"Here." She pointed at a section on the map. "This is an infantry trap that was built right into the floor. That is where we shall ensnare Lord Anubis. Once he falls in, be sure to use heavy battery fire, use artillery pieces. That will be the only way to break up Lord Anubis' body into more manageable pieces."

"Yes, my Lord Empress Neith." Belial paused. "But if you will kindly notice where Lord Anubis is locked up, and where the infantry trap is, they are a full grid away from each other. How can we get Lord Anubis to walk into the infantry trap?"

"Quite simple," Neith replied with a smile. "We give him some bait to chase."

She then snapped her fingers, which was the cue for a door to slide open, and First Prime Tom'ar entered the throne room, along with a squad of Jaffa. They were escorting a large party of scantily-clad men, all of whom looked very nervous.

Neith strode over to them, and the former personal slaves of Qetesh all started to back away from her--until the Jaffa who stood behind them held them in place with their staff weapons.

"Fear not, my friends," Neith said, in her best, friendliest tone. "You are not here to be harmed. In point of fact, I have a special assignment for all of you."

One of the men stared at her with a hopeful look. "You do?"

Neith nodded. "Yes, I do. I realize that you were all the personal slaves to Qetesh. But here is your chance to prove your loyalty to me."

They all spoke at once just then, all cajoling, pleading and swearing their ever-lasting loyalty to her. Several of them had even gotten on their knees.

Neith turned to Belial and said, "Lord Belial, I present you with your bait. Use them well."

Belial bowed. "I shall, my Lord Empress Neith."

Neith returned to her throne and ordered the main view screen to be engaged. She and Tom'ar watched with interest as Lord Belial set up the trap. He ordered the former servants of Qetesh to simply stand before one of the shut blast doors while he and his troops retreated to well behind the infantry trap in the floor down the hall. Jaffa then shut doors all along the route, ensuring that Lord Anubis and his bait only had one way to go.

When all was ready, Belial signaled for it to begin.

The servants all let out a horrified scream in unison when the blast door behind them was abruptly opened, revealing Lord Anubis in all of his enraged, terrifying glory.

The men kept yelling in a panic as they wildly ran down the corridors, with Lord Anubis hot on their tail. The jackal-faced monster managed to grab a few of the fleeing men and fling them, one-handed, right into the walls. The hapless slaves were smashed into the hard stone with a fatalistic, bone-crunching finality.

Neith continued to watch, stone-faced, as the bait led Lord Anubis straight to the infantry trap. Once Lord Anubis had stepped foot on top of the especially built floor, it gave way, collapsing beneath him. Lord Anubis, as well as the wretched slaves who served as bait, suddenly fell several stories into what looked to be a bottomless pit.

Just as Neith ordered, Lord Belial then commanded his troops to let loose with a withering, non-stop volley of large-scale artillery fire right into the pit. Neith was pleased to see Lord Anubis had been finally subdued--that amount of oppressive fire should be enough to rip apart his body so he can be placed back in cold storage. And she should know, since this was the way Neith had previously brought Lord Anubis to heel.

'If only Lord Belial and his damned Anubis troops could just fall into the pit, as well,' Neith thought angrily. She hated having to deal with such a dangerous potential enemy right in her midst like this.

Lord Ba'al appeared just then. After he showed his respect to Neith by bowing to her, he approached the throne when she gestured to him to come closer. She gestured for Tom'ar to also join the conversation.

"My Lord Empress Neith, I'm afraid I bring bad news," Ba'al said quietly. "I have checked into the Anubis troop strength, just as you have asked, and discovered that it presently stands at two hundred fifty thousand. One hundred thousand is a standing army here on Mount Tanis. The remaining one hundred fifty thousand are still contained within their cloning tanks."

"The damned cloning machines keep spitting them out," Neith said angrily. "What can be done to stop this, without arousing Lord Belial's suspicions?"

Ba'al smiled broadly. "Consider it already done, my Lord Empress. I had programmed the cloning machines to deliberately produce a bad batch of clones, one with serious defects, making them unusable as warriors. This caused the entire cloning system to be shut down for the time being. Belial already knows of the situation and accepts it for the time being."

Neith nodded in satisfaction. "Well met, Lord Ba'al. Very well handled. Now we just have to deal with a standing army of one hundred thousand clones. Unfortunately, that number is too much for the maze raptors to handle."

"My Lord Empress," Tom'ar spoke up. "We presently have over two hundred thousand Jaffa here on Mount Tanis. We can take them!"

"I admire your spirit, Tom'ar, which makes me all the more grateful to have you as my First Prime," Neith said. "However, since each clone trooper is practically an unstoppable army by himself, it will be a very costly battle, and one that I wish to avoid altogether." She glanced up at the screen. "Lord Belial approaches--no doubt to brag about his prowess against Lord Anubis. Let us table this discussion for now."

"Shall I have the maze raptors put to death, my Lord Empress?" Ba'al offered.

"No, keep them alive for now," Neith replied. "I have another plan in mind. Ba'al, have you heard of a temple called Katula?"

Ba'al shook his head. "No, my Lord Empress, the name is not familiar to me."

"It is a storage facility left behind by the Ancients, which had been turned into a temple by the local people," Neith replied. "I have not had any need of it--until now, since my arsenal here on Mount Tanis had been destroyed by SG-1. I shall send you to Katula with an Alkesh and a squad of Jaffa to retrieve a few items for me--items that should make it easier for us to deal with Lord Belial and his damnable invincible army."

"Why, my Lord Empress Neith," Ba'al said with a wide smile. "It shall be my pleasure to run this errand for you."

**SG-1: SVU**

"What's the matter?" Daniel asked, as he looked up from his book.

"I'm still mad at you," Olivia said. She stood by the doorway of his quarters at the SGC with her arms folded in front of her. "For making me strip like that in the raptor maze."

"Didn't I already apologize?" he said. "I thought I did--but, just in case, I'm sorry, Liv. Still, you had to admit, the plan worked, right? We got past the raptor maze workers without resorting to violence."

She reluctantly nodded. "Yeah…."

"In fact, we even managed to rescue those poor souls, many of whom were children. So the plan really worked very well--wouldn't you say, Liv?"

Olivia rolled her eyes as she let out a weary sigh. "Yes, Daniel, you're right."

Daniel nodded, with the hint of a smile. "And so you might even say that you stripped for a good cause, then--right, Liv?"  
"Oh, God!" Olivia burst into a grin as she just shook her head at him. "I can never stay mad at you! Why is that?"

He got up from his desk and placed his arms around her. "Maybe it's because you're such a warm and wonderful person?"

She was about to respond with a comeback of her own when Rodney and Casey abruptly stormed into the room. "Daniel, you should see this!" Rodney told him excitedly. "We got everything running, but we can't understand anything…so, you know…you should come and see it right now!"

Rodney was about to leave, when he noticed Olivia. "Oh, yeah…you can come along too! We need him to translate, but that doesn't mean that you can't be there too! So…you know…come along!"

He ran out of the room, leaving Casey standing by the doorway. "You guys have _got_ to see this," she said, shaking her head. "I mean, it's really…like…wow!"

Then she scampered off down the hallway.

Daniel and Olivia continued to stand there, still holding each other, only now they had confused expressions on their faces.

"I thought Casey was supposed to be giving Rodney a piece of her mind about that silly space princess fetish of his," Olivia said. "But I guess they're now good friends, huh?"

"So much so that they're now even sounding alike. They're both babbling incoherently," Daniel said. "Wanna see what's got them so excited?"

"Oh, I wouldn't miss this one for the world," Olivia replied, as they walked to the doorway.

When he glanced out in the hallway, Daniel saw that Rodney had now shepherded Sam, Jennifer and Janet out of their lab.

"This is really cool," Rodney anxiously told them. "Just wait until you see it!"

"All right, Rodney," Sam said impatiently. "We're coming, we're coming!"

"Wait, this isn't fair," Daniel said to Sam and the others, as they all walked down the corridor. "You guys were busy working on your own project."

"We've already got it cracked," Sam replied with a smile. "An EMP burst will be able to knock out the chips and turn the Anubis troops back into raving lunatics."

"An Electro Magnetic Pulse?" Daniel asked with a frown. "Isn't that a side effect from a nuke? That's a pretty heavy-handed way of solving the problem, isn't it?"

"No," Jennifer confidently said. "Because we can now replicate an EMP burst with a hand-held mechanism, thanks to reverse engineering Goa'uld and Ancient tech."

"Lt. Hailey helped me work it out," Sam said. "The problem now is that the EMP gadget we're working on will also knock out most of our equipment, as well. We'll have to look into covering everything electronic that we carry in the field with us with something like a Faraday design."

"I take it a Faraday design isn't something you'd find at Saks Fifth Avenue," Olivia lightly added.

That caused Sam to burst into a brief fit of laughter. "Um, no, Liv," she replied. "It's a special design that protects an electronic device, like a laptop, from an EMP burst."

"Great! Can you make one for my cell phone?" Olivia asked, with a smile.

Sam just playfully stuck her tongue out at Olivia.

They had approached the closed door to Rodney's lab just then, where Jack waited for them with Grace, Teal'c, Char'el and Dr. Weir. Jack took note of Sam sticking her tongue out at Olivia and smiled. "Winning another argument, Major?" he asked.

"Cheating is more like it," Olivia jokingly replied.

"Did you get to see what Rodney's ranting about, sir?" Sam asked Jack.

Jack solemnly shook his head. "He's got the space princess guarding the door on the inside. She's like a little pit bull! She won't let anybody in."

The door opened and an angry Casey poked her head outside. "Hey! I heard that!"

"Are we ready?" Rodney asked her.

Casey glanced back inside. "We ready? They're all here."

"Yeah," Bill's voice called back, "send them in."

"Everyone, feast your eyes on the Mumani library!" Rodney said as he tossed his hands up in a grandiose manner. "In 3D, no less!"

"Oh, wow…." Daniel had to admit, it was a quite a sight to behold. The main table in the lab was covered with the Mumani tablets, which all lay flat and were glowing. They projected various 3D images in the air above them that looked like the schematics of buildings and various pieces of technology. It was a very colorful setting overall.

"You can move them," Rodney said, as he demonstrated by gently touching a 3D image and rotating it with his finger. "See? It's pretty cool."

"Pretty freaking cool," O'Neill agreed. "Nice work, Rodney."

"Well, Casey really deserves credit for this," Rodney replied. "She was the one who inspired me."

Olivia looked shocked at this. She turned to Casey and said, "Really?"

Casey nodded. "I threatened to stick a power cord up his ass. That's what gave him the idea to use it in the tablets."

Olivia just grinned at her. "You go, girl…."

There was a moment of awkward silence. Then the giggling started--it was begun by Sam, who seemed to have gotten the most enjoyment out of the story, and thus laughed the hardest.

"Ok, all right…very funny story," Rodney muttered, annoyed at the overly mirthful response from everyone. "But could we please stay focused, here?"

"Yes, great idea," Weir said with a nod. She gestured at all of the 3D images. "Do we know exactly what are we're looking at here?"

Daniel, who had been staring intently at the 3D image which had been projected in the air right in front of him, said, "Well, uh, this one looks like the inside of a temple…"

Olivia leaned down beside him and pointed at something. "There's something glowing pretty brightly in the center. See it?"

"Yeah, you mean this?" When Daniel reached out and touched the red glowing orb, both he and Olivia were startled when the image enlarged into the familiar shape of the power crystal that they brought back from the Mumani temple.

"Hey, that looks like a Zed PM," Rodney said, amazed.

Jack just stared at him as if he were crazy. "Don't you mean a _Zee _PM?"

Daniel felt compelled to speak up. "Um, Jack. He's Canadian."

"Oh, I see," Jack replied, with a sudden understanding. He gave Rodney a concerned look. "I'm very sorry for you."

Rodney just angrily shook his head. "What is this, 'pick on Rodney day'?!"

"I thought that was every day," a voice said from the doorway.

Daniel turned to see Major John Sheppard casually leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed in front of him.

"Oh, yeah, great…everybody just pile on the Canadian!" Rodney indignantly cried.

"John, please behave," Weir chided him, as he entered the room and stood beside her. She turned to the rest of the crowd and added, "That goes for everybody else. Could we please just stay focused? This is obviously a very important find, and we need to put our heads together and examine it as best we can. Now, these are all obviously maps?"

"Not all of them," Zelenka said. He gestured at the one image that was in front of him. "This is some sort of a schematic for a device of some kind."

"Really?" Sam said, her interest hooked. "Hey, you mind if I got a better look at that?"

"Not at all, Major," Zelenka replied, as Sam and Hailey came over for a closer look at the image.

Daniel was busy looking over the image of the ZPM with Olivia, Casey and Grace. They were all huddled together before it, as if they worshipped it.

"This is telling you where ZPM is within the temple," Daniel said. "But where is the temple itself?"

"Can we somehow pull the image back out so that it shows the whole thing again?" Olivia asked.

Grace reached out and touched the image of the ZPM. When she did this, the image reverted back to that of the temple design. Grace touched the red dot again, and it zoomed back into the ZPM.

"The image itself feels slightly warm," Grace commented, as she once again reverted the image back to that of the temple. "But I don't see anything that gives the location of the temple."

"A safe bet would be on the Mumani home world," Olivia said. "After all, that's where we got these from, right? Maybe they're in the same temple where the floating head was?"

"Floating head?" Casey asked, looking anxious.

"A great big honking floating head, Casey," Jack said, smiling. "It was pretty cool. You should have been there. Hey, maybe you and Char'el can come back with us."

"Yeah," Daniel said with a heavy sigh, "maybe."

Jack gave him an annoyed look. "You got something against Casey and Char'el?"

"Uh, no, of course not," Daniel replied. "That's not what I was referring to, Jack. It's just that we searched that temple from top to bottom, and found nothing else there."

"Besides, sir," Grace added, "the layout displayed here doesn't match up with any of the Mumani temples that we've seen."

"It could be a Mumani temple that we have not yet seen," Teal'c suggested.

But Daniel shook his head. Something kept bothering him about this situation, and he just realized what it was. "No. The information here is incomplete--there's something that we're missing…."

He stood up and gazed at the glowing tablets on the table. There were seven of them in all, and he'd just noticed that the tablets themselves were cut in a strange pattern. Instead of a square shape, they were all in a strange zig-zag pattern as if they were pieces of a….

"Jigsaw puzzle," Daniel said.

"What?" Casey asked, confused.

"Shh! He's thinking," Olivia told her. "I always find it best to just let him roll when he gets like this."

"Just make sure he doesn't roll so far that you lose sight of him," Jack warned.

"Does he literally roll?" Char'el asked Teal'c.

"It is yet another confusing Tauri figure of speech," Teal'c replied.

"Rodney, can we turn these off for just a moment?" Daniel asked.

"Whoa, wait," Sam said, annoyed. "We're not finished looking over this gizmo, yet."

"It'll be just for a second, Sam," Daniel promised. "And, if I'm right, I might be able to tell you exactly where to find that gizmo of yours."

"What _is_ that gizmo, anyway, Carter?" Jack asked, as Rodney switched off the Naquadah generator. "Any idea?"

"Judging strictly from the images, it looks like a way to convert the ring transporter on a ship into some sort of a drilling device," she said, sounding excited.

"It shows how to boost the ship's power, using additional generators," Hailey added, "as well as making some modifications to the ring transporter itself. But it's pretty advanced."

"And the equipment appears to be also located in the same temple as everything else," Sam said. "So if Daniel can find it quicker, I'm all for it."

"So no pressure, huh?" Daniel muttered, as he examined the tablets on the table, which were now turned off.

"None whatsoever," Sam replied. "Just keep in mind that if you don't turn these back on soon, Lt. Hailey and I will zat you."

Daniel glanced up and saw both Sam and Hailey smiling brilliantly at him. "You two have been hanging out with Jack for _way_ too long…."

"Yeah," Jack said in a chiding tone to them. Then he did a double take at Daniel. "Wait, was that an insult directed at me?"

Yet Daniel ignored him as he and Grace carefully studied the tablets. "You see how it looks like they lock together?" Daniel asked her. "Like pieces of a jigsaw?"

"Yes," Grace said, as she fitted two pieces together. "Like that?"

Daniel nodded as he fitted three more together in a link. "And like this bunch."

"Wait," Grace said, "look!"

She then fitted the five pieces together in a horizontal link. "See?"

"Excellent," Daniel said. He grabbed the two remaining tablets and test-fitted them on the opposite ends. He was pleasantly surprised to see they fit perfectly. Daniel ran his hand over the bare surface of one tablet--only to discover that it was not bare. He could feel a thin raised layer under his fingertips. "There's something that feels like a pattern here."

"That's the emittors for the holograph," Dr. Lee spoke up. "But the weird thing is, it's not the same pattern on every tablet."

Then it hit Daniel right there and then. "That's because they're more than just holograph emittors, Dr. Lee. Um, Grace, do me a favor?"

"Sure. Name it."

"Go to my office and get the charcoal and paper that we use to make rubbings in the field?"

"Got it!" Grace said, as she ran out of the lab.

"This is a fine time to start drawing, Daniel!" Jack said angrily.

"Sir, we can't read the patterns because they're monochromatic," Sam patiently explained. "Daniel is going to make charcoal rubbings off of them, so we _can_ read them."

"I knew that," Jack told her. When Sam just made an annoyed face at him, he added, "I did, Carter! I knew that!"

"Actually, uh, I think I have a pretty good hunch as to what this will say," Daniel said.

"What is it, Daniel?" Janet asked.

"Well, let me put it this way: how many chevrons does it take to dial up a stargate address?" Daniel then pointed at the tablets. "And how many tablets do you see here?"

"Seven," Hailey said--which was the answer to both questions. Then her eyes grew wide as it struck her. "Oh, no way!"

"We'll see soon enough," Daniel replied.

Grace returned with the charcoal and paper, and the both of them got busy. They placed the paper on top of each tablet and quickly rubbed the charcoal over the raised edges, instantly bringing the patterns into clear view.

Once they had all seven tablets etched, Daniel and Grace stood back and admired their work. It was clear that the holograph patterns on each of the tablets had formed a single chevron from the stargate. And, properly interlocked as they all were now, the seven chevrons formed a stargate address.

"And there is the location of the temple filled with goodies," Daniel said, satisfied. "And, I might mention, it's not the same address as the Mumani home world."

"Superb job, Daniel," Sam said.

"Indeed, excellent work, Daniel Jackson," Teal'c repeated.

Daniel shyly smiled as Olivia gave him a big hug and a kiss. "You are so frigging smart, it's not funny!"

"Yep, great job, Daniel," Jack said. He glanced around expectantly at the group before him and added, "Now that we've found the location of the biggest Ancient mall in the galaxy, anybody here feel like going shopping?"

**SG-1: SVU**

Olivia strode down the corridor as Jack and Sam presented their case to go off world to Hammond. The General's permission was a given: Weir was all for them going to the temple, anyway. It was now just a matter of waiting for the official go-ahead. In the meantime, Olivia had wanted to check in on the refugees that they had brought back with them from the raptor maze. She'd heard from Dr. Carson that they were all gathered in one of the R&R media rooms.

When Olivia arrived, she peered into the opened doorway with a broad smile. The refugees were all huddled around a plasma screen TV that was set up for them on the wall. The Hi-Def widescreen TV showed Luke Skywalker standing with deep reflection before the twin setting suns on his home planet of Tatoonie.

The refugees, including Vala, all sat on the floor mesmerized by the epic saga that unfolded before them on the TV. They were also enjoying large bowls of popcorn, which they hungrily munched while watching wide-eyed the exploits from a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away. Most of them still wore the pajamas that had been given to them in the infirmary, while some wore BDU pants and shirts. All of them were barefoot.

When Vala saw Olivia, she got up and ran over to her--but not before grabbing another handful of popcorn.

"Be right back," Vala promised, as she carefully stepped past the men, women and children who sat around her on the floor. "I'll be right back."

Olivia noted that, although Vala wore a green BDU, her shirt was open, revealing the black t-shirt she wore underneath, and she was also barefoot. Vala had the air of a really hip camp counselor in how she graciously and maturnally dealt with the refugees.

As they moved further into the hall for a more private chat, Vala gestured for Olivia to wait one moment while she munched on her handful of popcorn. "Excuse my manners," Vala said, while she chewed. "But this stuff is delicious! Have you tried it?"

"Yes, I have," Olivia said with a smile. "How are they all doing?"

"Oh, fine! Especially once Teal'c lent us this--what did he call it? A movie? Yeah? Once Teal'c lent us this movie, nobody can do anything but watch it. It's called Star Trek, I believe, and it's very good! Have you seen it?"

Olivia's eyes flared in fear momentarily as she imagined what Teal'c would say if he heard Vala mangle the name of his beloved movie series. "Um, yes, I have seen this, and it's actually called Star _Wars_, Vala."

"Star Wars, right! I _knew_ I got that wrong. Listen, I wanted to ask you something about Daniel, Olivia."

"What about him?"

"Is he seeing anybody?"

Olivia stared at her in shock for a second. "Uh, yeah…he's seeing me."

Now Vala's eyes grew large as she pointed at Olivia. "Oh, _you_ and Daniel are…oh, ok, right." She burst into a sheepish grin. "Sorry! Won't mention it again, yeah?"

"Yeah," Olivia muttered. She was about to turn and leave when Vala grabbed her arm.

"One more thing, Olivia," Vala said conspiratorially, "this Princess Leia, she makes out all right, yeah?"

"She's fine, Vala. Just keep watching the movie and you'll see…"

"Ok, thanks! I really like Leia, she's so spunky!"

'Oh, yeah,' Olivia thought, vivid, as she watched Vala go back inside and resume watching Star Wars. 'But not as much as you apparently like Daniel--you little ho!'

Yet Olivia shook her head as she walked towards the elevator. 'Easy, Liv, just take it easy,' she told herself. 'After all, Vala was kind enough to ask, first, before making a move.'

But as she shared the elevator with a pair of airmen as it ascended, the thought occurred to Olivia that Vala might very well still try and make a move on Daniel. Maybe by asking her, it had been Vala's intent to rattle Olivia's cage, to get her off balance, thus making it easier for Vala to swoop in and steal Daniel from her.

"That bitch," Olivia angrily muttered. "She's got another thing coming if she thinks she can get away with--"

Olivia abruptly stopped speaking when she abruptly realized that she was not alone in the elevator. She meekly glanced over at the two airmen, who stared back her with amazed looks of incomprehension.

"Um, just having a rough day," Olivia said with a nervous chuckle. "You know how it gets…."

One of them nodded, still looking as if he regarded her as being absolutely crazy, and quickly said, "Yes, ma'am."

'Oh, Christ, I'm becoming a madwoman,' Olivia thought, cringing, as she hurriedly exited at her floor.

When she entered the control room, she was happy to see Daniel was there. He stood intently watching the screens with Jack, Sam, Teal'c, General Hammond and Dr. Weir.

"Hey," Daniel said with a smile, as she slid up close to his side and took his hand. "See this?"

Olivia stared at the screens as she watched a POV shot of a MALP camera as it surveyed a dense, jungle setting. "What's this place?"

"Where the gate address on the tablets led us," Daniel replied. "General Hammond not only okayed the mission, but we already dialed up the address and sent through a MALP."

"So far, it looks very good," Sam added. "Breathable atmosphere, standard gravity within earth parameters--but very hot and humid, just like the Mumani planet."

"Yes," Weir agreed. "It makes you wonder if there's some connection with the fact that the climates of both planets are the same."

Everyone then let out a collective gasp when the MALP camera swiveled around just in time to see a pair of large claws reach out for it.

"Ok, that's not good," Jack muttered, as they watched the camera--along with the rest of the MALP--being lifted into the air. "That's _really_ not good…."

"It would appear that there is some native life on this planet after all," Hammond commented.

"Big enough to pick up a MALP and carry it off," Weir said anxiously.

"It is flying, Dr. Weir," Teal'c politely corrected her.

"He's right," Jack added. "So we'll be dealing with a flying creature big enough to lift a MALP? This one sounds like it'll be a lot of fun…."

Olivia started feeling a little seasick as she watched the camera as it bounced wildly around against the dense green landscape. Then she saw a flash of white within the greenish foliage.

Daniel stabbed a finger at one of the screens. "Hey, anybody else just see that?"

"See what?" Jack asked.

"I saw it too, Daniel," Sam said.

"Yeah, same here," Olivia replied. "Looked like a large white box, right?"

Sam nodded. "Like a structure. Could be our temple."

"And there goes the MALP!" Walter announced.

"Oh, my," Weir said alarmed, as they watched the camera abruptly fall several hundred feet to the ground.

Once it hit the ground, the MALP, along with the camera, cut out.

"Walter, can you rewind back to the white thing?" Jack asked.

When the Sergeant did so, he freeze-framed the image. Everybody leaned in for a closer look at the white shape--which, to Olivia, definitely looked like a structure of some kind.

"Don't know if that's _the _temple," Daniel said, as he stared at the image. "But it _is_ a structure of some kind within the jungle."

"It would most likely be the temple, given it's close proximity to the gate," Sam replied. "It's about a half a mile away, wouldn't you say, sir?"

"Probably more than that," Jack told her. "We'll be checking it out in either case."

"Walter," Hammond said, "go back to when the MALP was first attacked, please."

When Walter rewound the image back to where the claws first appeared, he froze it once more for better study. All Olivia could see was the pair of claws underneath a large shadowy mass that covered the top half of the screen.

"That's the biggest bird I have ever seen," Olivia said.

Weir nodded in agreement. "It must have dropped the MALP because it was too heavy to carry."

"Perhaps," Teal'c said, as he calmly regarded the image. "Perhaps not…."

"You got something to add, T?" Jack said. "Spit it out."

"I know of airborne predators on other planets who lift their prey to great heights before deliberately dropping them," Teal'c somberly said. "It is an efficient method of killing their prey, before devouring them."

"So you're suggesting that this flying predator didn't drop the MALP just because it was tired?" Hammond asked. "If that's the case, then it would mean that it's very large in size."

"One more thing, General Hammond," Teal'c said, as he pointed at the shadowy body on the screen. "The hide of the creature is covered with scales, which would further show that it is not a bird, but a great flying lizard."

"Hot and humid, dense jungles, and now big, honking flying dragons," Jack said dismally. "You know, I'm beginning to _love_ this place already!"

**SG-1: SVU**

"Oh jeez," Olivia said, as she fanned herself with her hand, "this is even hotter than the Mumani home world!"

Sam, who began sweating the moment she stepped foot into the steamy air, had to agree. The place was so humid it felt like she was covered in a wet blanket. She and Olivia stood and waited on the stone platform by the stargate as the rest of their team came through. Daniel and Grace Satterfield emerged next, and their faces became scowls of discomfort once the heat hit them.

Sam glanced over at Teal'c and Major Lyman, from SG-3, who had both taken point by going through the gate first. They kept a watchful eye on the sky, which was covered by a green canopy of large palm leaves that stretched out from gigantic trees that soared as high as a hundred feet. Hammond ordered a small contingent of Marines to accompany SG-1, led by Major Lyman, and Sam was glad to have them along.

"Everything ok?" Sam called to Teal'c.

"Thus far, it has been all clear, Major Carter," the Jaffa responded. Both he and Lyman never took their eyes off the skies above them.

"Here there be dragons," Bobby Lyman said, as he quickly brought up his M249 SAW machine gun.

Both Sam and Olivia tensed as they watched a shadowy shape spiral down from a branch at the top of one of the massive trees. It had a long, thin body with a tail and a pair of massive wings.

"Oh, Christ," Olivia whispered, her eyes wide with fear. Even from this distance, it was very clear that the flying lizard was huge.

The creature, which looked just like the dragons of old earth lore, swooped low to the ground, where it grabbed an animal in its jaws. Then it flew back up high into the sky, the still-wiggling animal between its teeth.

"What is it?" Jack said from behind them. He had just emerged from the event horizon.

"One of the dragons, sir," Sam reported, as she gestured at the creature. She kept her trigger finger on her Micro 16 assault rifle. They had all upgraded their weaponry to heavier guns to better deal with the Anubis soldiers, should they run into them.

"Looks like it's making a snack run," Olivia added.

"Shall we set up a standard defensive perimeter, sir?" Major Lyman asked.

Jack was about to nod--until he pointed at something. "Wait, look!"

They watched as the dragon (Sam figured she might as well refer to the thing as that until somebody came up with a better idea) dropped the still-writhing animal from its jaws. They could hear the poor animal, which looked like a cross between a giant hog and a cow, squealing as it plummeted several hundred feet to its death.

Then the dragon dove back down and collected its now-dead meal with one claw, before it soared back up, disappearing within the canopy of leaves once more.

"Teal'c was dead on about its feeding habits," Sam commented to Olivia, who simply nodded, looking still-fazed at the sight they had witnessed.

"Looks like Puff the Magic Dragon is busy with his happy meal," Jack said. "So let's start moving towards the temple. And all eyes stay on the sky."

"Sir, it would be tempting to move through the natural trail opening in the jungle directly ahead of us," Major Lyman said. "But I'd strongly suggest we stay out of that area, since that seems to be the dragons' main hunting zone."

"Yes, I concur," Teal'c added with a nod. "The cover of the dense jungle shall provide protection from the dragons."

"Very well," Jack agreed. He further ordered that they proceed forward with Teal'c and Major Lyman continuing to take point. Meanwhile, Marines Sgt. Emmaus and Cpl. Hasseman would guard the right flank, while he and Sam would guard the left. Marine Gunnery Sgt. Keller would watch their rear, along with Lieutenants Satterfield and Hailey. Jack had the rest of the team, which included Daniel, Olivia, Dr. Zelenka, Rodney McKay, and Lieutenant Johanssen in the center, all watching the skies.

Sam cast a sideways glance at TJ, who looked wide-eyed and edgy, but otherwise seemed to be doing all right. TJ had been off world before, on missions of mercy with a medical team, but this was her very first field assignment as a medic, and she appeared to be handling everything in stride.

When Teal'c stopped abruptly and raised his hand in a fist, everybody in their group immediately halted.

Teal'c cupped one hand to an ear, an indication that he heard something. Soon enough, Sam heard it, as well. It was a low, thundering sound of a thousand heavy footsteps. Yet before they could even take cover, the source of the footsteps was already upon them.

Sam watched, awe-struck, as a herd of the largest dinosuars she had ever seen rumbled their way down the trial that cut through the jungle. And in an instant, she realized that these massive monsters had created this trail for themselves, by simply knocking the trees out of their way. Walking on all fours, their humongous bodies were most colorful to look at. Their backs were green with black stripes, and their legs and bellies were a light tan, with some speckled orange here and there. As they lumbered past their group, the dinosaurs--which resembled the large brachiosaurus from earth's past, let out a low bellow that echoed through the jungle.

"We were wondering before if the temple might have been looted," Rodney said. Like everyone in the group, he also wore a combat helmet--as did Zelenka. "But, after seeing this place, now I don't think so! If looters don't get stepped on by these monsters, the damned dragons will pick them off!"

"At least we now know what caused that trail," Sam said. "The big dinos can go wherever they want without any concern about the dragons. They're way too big to be carried off."

As they continued on through the jungle, Olivia looked overwhelmed with awe and joy at the magnificent sight of the herd of dinosaurs who lumbered by them on the trail. "This is just amazing!"

"Isn't it?" Daniel said with a smile.

"Yeah, it's amazing," Jack muttered, "as long as you don't get trampled beneath those guys."

"Nor snatched from above by _these _guys," Sam added, as she kept a wary eye on another dragon that flew directly over head. She relaxed when she saw the dragon continued to fly away.

As they kept moving through the jungles, Sam knew they were getting close to the temple when she began to see its alabaster walls peek through the dense foliage. Before she knew it, it rose up before them. It was essentially a large white box that was constructed from stone blocks. There were slits in the walls near the roof, and Sam wonder if they were for aiming weapons, or just for ventilation. There was one word, written in Anceint, that was carved into the stones across the side.

"Katula," Daniel translated.

"What's it mean?" Jack asked.

Both Daniel and Grace shrugged. "Dunno," Daniel replied. "It's probably the name of this place."

"Might not Katula be the name of the god the citizens worshipped?" Teal'c asked, as they all ascended the massive stone steps.

"This was originally built by the Ancients, Teal'c," Grace said. "As far as we know, they didn't worship a god called Katula."

They entered through an open entranceway that looked more like a wall had been smashed through. Sure enough, once they were inside a courtyard, Sam saw the skeleton of a dragon lying on the stone floor.

"Looks like somebody wasn't being careful about where they were going," Hailey commented, as she stared at the dragon bones. "He must have been flying when he slammed right into the wall, breaking it down."

"This is fascinating," TJ marveled at the dragon bones. She pulled out a digital camera and starting taking pictures. "This is basically evolution gone wild! I mean, what if the dinosaurs never died out and just kept on going?"

After a quick sweep of the court, which had several open doorways leading to blackness, Rodney opened up his laptop, upon which he had stored a multitude of photos taken of the holographs. He pointed at something in the photo. "Here, this is where we are right now, at the very top of the temple. See?"

Sam nodded as he held his laptop out for her to see. "Looks like we take one of these doorways to go down, but which one?"

"Dr. Jackson translated the directions for me," Rodney said. He slid his finger on the pad of the laptop, which activated a compass on the computer screen. "Yeah, this is North, right?"

Sam consulted her compass and pointed at the wall they were facing. "Yep, this is North right here."

Rodney nodded. "Right. And so, the proper doorway to get the Zed-PMs should be right over--"

He was interrupted by the engine sounds of a heavy aircraft. Sgt. Keller and Major Lyman ran over to the entrance and cautiously stuck their heads out. Then Lyman glanced back and--in a harsh whisper--said, "ALKESH! Bearing north-west and closing!"

"They're landing the vulture right on top of us," Keller further reported, "right on the roof, sir."

"Everybody, take cover, right now!" Jack ordered.

Sam ducked into the first doorway she saw, and Rodney came with her, along with Olivia, Grace and Gail Emmaus. Finding themselves in a narrow corridor, they pressed themselves up against the wall by the open doorway as they listened to heavy boot steps, as a Jaffa commander harshly shouted orders.

"It sounds like it's just Jaffa," Grace whispered.

'Just Jaffa?' Sam thought with a slight smile. One time, the mere presence of Jaffa was enough to invoke fear. But now, thanks to the advent of the Anubis warriors, the Jaffa had actually become the preferred threat because they weren't considered to be as lethal as the Anubis warriors. But Sam still understood Grace's relief--if it came down to a firefight, they stood a better chance against Jaffa.

"Fan out," a familiar voice ordered the Jaffa. "We must find the storage rooms quickly!"

'Ba'al?!' Sam thought, alarmed. 'Ba'al himself is here? Personally leading this expedition?'

Olivia just wearily shook her head. Then she whispered into Sam's ear: "It's never frigging easy for us, is it?"

Sam just shook her head in agreement. Yet before she could verbally reply, Sam was stopped when she heard something very scary: it was the hard, unyielding sound of Jaffa boot steps, growing louder.

The Jaffa were all headed straight for Sam and the others.

**To Be Continued....**


	14. Chapter 14

_I'd like to thank mia rose for her kind comments. I'd also like to thank those of you who recently added me, or this story, to your faves list._

_Sorry for the double posting of this chapter, but I had to correct a major typo. _

**Stargate: SVU 3**

**Chapter Fourteen**

As the footsteps of the Jaffa got closer, Sam leaned against the wall and braced herself for inevitable confrontation to come--until Rodney abruptly started making weird sign language gestures at her. Sam stared in confusion as a wide-eyed Rodney held his opened laptop in one hand while trying to gesture frantically at something in the opposite direction from them down the hall. The problem was that the intricate gestures he created with his hands were making absolutely no sense at all.

Sam exchanged a confused look with Olivia, then she stared back at Rodney and mouthed the word: "What?!"

"I'm trying to tell you that there's another way out of here," Rodney said, sotto voce. "Without warning the entire Netian army out there!"

He held up his computer and was about to begin another of his elaborate explanations, until Sam stopped him. "Just lead the way," she told Rodney in a whisper. "We'll follow."

Rodney's eyes grew fearfully wide. "Lead the way? Me? But w-we don't know what's down there…w-what if something eats me?"

"Oh, gee, wouldn't _that_ be so terrible…." Olivia whispered, her tone full of sarcasm, as she rolled her eyes.

Rodney stared at her with a mix of shock and anger. "Excuse me? What's your problem with me?"

"We don't have time for me to list them all," Olivia shot back. "But how about treating Casey like a sex object, for one?"

Before a mortified Rodney could reply, Sam stepped in-between them. "We need to remain focused on the task at hand, and that means getting out of here," she whispered. "Rodney, you and I will take point together. If something attacks, I'll protect you, ok? Sergeant, please take the rear and watch our backs."

"Aye-aye, Major."

As they started down the hallway, Rodney began to once more pontificate on the whys of where they were going. Sam, who strode beside him with her gun at the ready, waved her hand in his face and said, "No need to explain, Rodney. I trust you. Just keep leading us forward."

"See?" Rodney said, with a smug glance at Olivia. "_Sam_ trusts me!"

"We're trapped in some ancient temple on an alien planet, once more dodging the bad guys," Olivia muttered to Grace, "and we're _still _playing these frigging silly little office games with Captain Geek here from tech support…."

Rodney spun around and faced her. "Hey, it's the gizmos that Captain Geek from tech support _creates_ that saves your butt, lady!"

Sam was about to tell them all the be quiet when her radio squawked loudly, followed by the very loud voice of one of her best friends. "SAM!" Daniel said, sounding desperate. "OLIVIA?! ARE YOU GUYS ALL RIGHT? OVER!"

"Oh, jeez," Sam muttered, as she quickly keyed her radio before Daniel could inadvertently give away their location. She frantically whispered, "Daniel, we're fine for now. Request radio silence for the time being. Over and out."

"Wonderful," Rodney said to Olivia. "I just hope lover boy doesn't bring the Jaffa down on our heads!"

"He was just worried about us," Olivia angrily shot back.

"Liv's right," Grace added. "Daniel couldn't have known--"

"JAFFA ON OUR TAIL!" Gail shouted, as she opened fire with her assault rifle.

"EVERYBODY HIT THE WALL!" Sam commanded, just as she barely dodged an energy blast that was shot at her by a Jaffa. Quickly seeing there was no real room for them to take proper cover--Olivia, Rodney and Grace were squished up right behind her and unable to shoot--Sam glanced at the grenade launcher under the muzzle of Gail's gun and got an idea. "GAIL, SHOOT THE CEILING WITH A GRENADE!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Rodney said in a panic. "Wait! Won't that bring down the roof?!"

"Yep," Sam just absently said with a nod. She was busy exchanging fire with the Jaffa. It was gratifying to see how the heavier firepower that they now packed had so effortlessly brought down their opponents. But for every Jaffa that they dropped, two more seemed to take its place--that and the narrow corridor, which only had enough room to allow Sam and Sgt. Emmaus to return fire, meant that time was running out for them.

They had to get moving, now.

"Sergeant," Sam said. "Anytime you're ready!"

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Gail shouted, just before she shot a grenade into the ceiling.

The explosion sent a rumbling shock wave down both ends of the corridor as large stone slabs began to crumble down around them. Suddenly, the ceiling and walls between them and the Jaffa collapsed into a large pile of dirt and debris.

Sam turned in the opposite direction and started shoving Rodney, Olivia and Grace ahead of her. Gail was right by her side.

"Run," Sam told them, as the ceiling began to cave in directly above them. "Everybody run, now!"

Rodney needed no further prodding; he was the very first to go charging down the collapsing corridor. Sam was now grateful that she and the others all wore their combat helmets, as they were pelted with bits and pieces of stone that fell ahead of the collapse behind them.

'Just hope the rest of the corridor stabilizes,' Sam worriedly thought, 'or else we're about to become permanent residents in this place!'

**SG1-SVU**

Once Ba'al gave the order for his Jaffa to fan out, he immediately went over to the control panel, which was located behind the bones of the dead dragon. Neith had told him where it was, and further gave him the codes needed to shut down the deadly anti-intruder devices that were hidden throughout the storage facility.

Yet once he arrived at the panel, which was hidden behind a stone slab, Ba'al's eyes grew wide with anxiety when he realized that he could not gain access to it. The stone slab that hid the panel would not open, no matter how many times he tried it. Ba'al suspected that it might be because of the extensive damage caused by the dragon that crashed through the wall.

He was about to order his Jaffa to get the panel open when suddenly a firefight erupted in one of the side corridors that led from the room. It was a fierce exchange of weapons fire that dropped quite a number of the Jaffa who had responded.

"Jaffa!" Ba'al commanded. "Remove this stone slab!"

Three of the Jaffa came over and effortlessly pried the slab loose by using the ends of their staff weapons. Ba'al smiled as he watched the slab break into pieces as it fell to the floor.

Then Ba'al's smile faded when he saw the control panel itself.

It was a mess, completely shut down and damaged beyond repair. There was no doubt that the dead dragon had caused this destruction when it crashed into the temple and knocked out the wall in the process. There was now no way to shut down the anti-intruder devices.

When he heard a loud rumbling, Ba'al glanced over at the battle and saw Jaffa running out of the corridor as a wave of dirt and stones followed them.

"What happened?!" he demanded.

"The corridor, it collapsed when one of the Tauri fired her weapon into the ceiling," a Jaffa reported.

"Tauri?!" Ba'al said, shocked. 'What were _they_ doing here?' he wondered. 'No doubt to steal the Ancient treasures for themselves. But how did they find this vault?'

Ba'al was about to give the order to hunt down all Tauri within the vault--until one of the Jaffa pointed at something and shouted, "Shol'va!"

Ba'al glanced over at what he pointed to, just in time to see Teal'c open fire with his staff weapon from a doorway on the opposite side of the room. The Jaffa who pointed him out was shot down.

Ba'al was enraged to see Colonel Jack O'Neill and several others had joined the Shol'va Teal'c at the doorway. O'Neill gave him a big grin as he returned fire. "HEY, HOW'S IT GOING, BALL BOY?"

Yet before Ba'al could even react to this, all hell had broken loose.

**SG-1: SVU**

"Request radio silence for the time being," Sam had urgently said. "Over and out."

O'Neill glanced at Daniel, who stood there, looking very worried. O'Neill knew exactly how he felt. Teal'c, and Lt. Hailey stood with them in the small room adjacent to the entry point--which had now been taken over by Jaffa who were led by Ba'al. They stood far enough away from the doorway to be able to speak quietly without fear of being heard.

"She didn't have time to say if Olivia was even _with_ her," Daniel said dismally.

"Daniel, both Sam and Olivia are big girls who can take care of themselves," O'Neill assured his friend. His radio squawked once, then once again. O'Neill clicked it back twice to let whoever know it was all clear to speak.

"Colonel." It was Major Lyman. "Are you there? Over."

O'Neill keyed his radio. "Here, Lyman. Who's with you? Over."

"Dr. Zelenka, TJ, Keller and Hasseman. Over."

"I've got Teal'c, Dr. Jackson and Lt. Hailey with me," O'Neill replied. "We heard from Major Carter, but she didn't have time to talk. Over."

They were startled by the sound of a great muffled explosion that rattled the very temple they stood in. "Lyman, you still there?" O'Neill nervously asked. "Over."

"Still here, sir. That had nothing to do with us. Over."

O'Neill glanced over with a worried look at Teal'c, Daniel and Hailey. "So it must have been Major Carter…."

"I shall check the doorway," Teal'c offered.

Yet no sooner than Teal'c step over to the doorway and peer outside then O'Neill heard an angry voice shout, "Shol'va!"

"Damn it," O'Neill muttered, as he, Daniel, and Hailey all ran over to Teal'c.

For his part, Teal'c had returned fire, shooting down a Jaffa with his staff weapon. There was a large army of Jaffa in the main room--along with Lord Ba'al, who stood glaring at them as if they were a bunch of cockroaches that he'd just uncovered.

Seeing the look on Ba'al's face, O'Neill just couldn't help himself. "HEY, HOW'S IT GOING, BALL BOY?" he shouted.

O'Neill was still smiling as he and the others in his group brought up their weapons, just as the Ba'al's Jaffa all charged at them.

Then the room before them turned into something out of a disco as hundreds of bright red lights abruptly switched on all at the same time. The lights--which O'Neill quickly realized were laser beams--were set up in a criss-cross pattern from the floor to the ceiling to the walls. It looked like a giant red web that engulfed the attacking Jaffa.

And they were all slaughtered instantly.

Several of the Jaffa who were out in front were literally sliced in half. When they fell to the floor, already dead, it was in two pieces. O'Neill noticed that the laser webbing was restricted only to the main room--he and his people were safe here, at least as far as he could see.

"Oh, um, wow," Daniel said, taken aback at the horrific sight of freshly sliced up bodies before them.

"Almost looks like the counter of a deli," Hailey commented, as she stared at the sliced bodies. "You know, like when they cut the meat into those really thin little--"

She stopped when O'Neill gently patted her on the shoulder. "Yeah, ok, we got _that_ really nasty mental image Lieutenant. Thanks so much!"

"I may never eat deli food again now," Daniel muttered, looking sick.

"O'Neill," Teal'c said, as he gestured at something with a nod of his head.

O'Neill saw Ba'al standing with a few remaining Jaffa by the bones of the dead dragon. Apparently the damage the dragon caused by crashing into the temple had also taken out the lasers in that area. Ba'al and his boys stared timidly at the laser webbing directly in front of them.

"Some days nothing ever goes right, huh, Ball Boy?!" O'Neill called over to him.

Ba'al just angrily pointed at O'Neill. "The name is Ba'al, O'Neill. I shall be happy to brand it into your forehead, lest you forget!"

"Why don't you come over and try it right now?" O'Neill taunted. "Always wanted to see what a sliced Ball Boy looks like on the inside."

When Ba'al and his men suddenly turned away and strode out the room through the hole in the wall that the dragon had created, O'Neill turned to Teal'c and said, "He's not a dumb as I was hoping he'd be, darn it…."

"What is all of this?" Daniel asked, as he gestured at the laser webbing that covered the room in front of them. "And why didn't it turn on when we were in the room?"

"An anti-intruder device, like what was in the Mumani temple," Hailey replied. "But none of that stuff worked there because the power source, the ZPMs, were largely drained. Here, we're seeing a temple of the same design that's fully powered, and fully lethal."

"So we should watch our step from here on out," O'Neill said with a nod.

Daniel shook his head. "But, I still don't understand why the lasers didn't turn on when we were in there."

"Neither did the lasers come on when the Jaffa were in the room," Teal'c said. "The anti-intruder device only become operational when we exchanged fire with the Jaffa."

"Which means they operate only when there's gunfire," Hailey said with a grin. "Hey, we're starting to figure this place out."

"Don't get too overconfident," O'Neill warned. "Let just take each room one at a time, and keep our eyes open for any traps."

"Um, why's the sand draining from the floor here?" Daniel said.

"Oh, drat," O'Neill muttered in annoyance, as the entire floor unexpectedly fell out from underneath them. Before they knew it, or could even help it, the four of them were falling helplessly through a black void.

**SG-1: SVU**

"Never frigging easy," Olivia muttered, as she and Grace ran side by side down the corridor along with the rest of their team. The darkened corridor was illuminated only by their flashlights, which were attached to the upper right portion of their combat vests.

"At least the hallway's no longer collapsing around us," Grace offered.

Olivia shook her head. "Oh, no, sweetie, don't do that…."

Grace gave her a puzzled look. "Don't do what?"

"Trying to be cheerful and optimistic." Olivia shook her head. "It's not that I don't appreciate what you're trying to do. But it never works. Trying to look on the bright side usually just makes things worse."

Rodney, who ran just ahead of them with Sam, glanced back at her with a strange look. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard!"

"So speaks the president of the space princess fan club," Olivia snidely retorted.

Rodney was about to respond--until Sam urgently gestured at the laptop that he held open in his hands. "You said there was a room somewhere here, Rodney. Where is it?"

"It should be--" Rodney paused. Then he stabbed a finger directly ahead of them. "Yep, there it is!"

The room turned out to be empty--yet once they entered, the ceiling lit up, providing illumination. For her part, Olivia stared warily around them. There was something about this bare room with the lighted ceiling and dirt floor that set off every alarm within her. She noticed that Grace also sensed there was something off, as well.

"Still all clear behind us, Major," Sgt. Emmaus reported. "Looks like the cave-in sealed us off from the Jaffa."

"Yeah, but it also sealed us off from the only way out of here," Rodney whined.

"The Jaffa were in the way regardless," Grace told him. "We may not be able to get back through there, but at least we don't have them coming after us."

Olivia flinched, holding up her 9mm, when a door abruptly slid open on the opposite side of the room. Everyone else in their group--even Rodney--stood holding their weapons right at the doorway. Yet nobody came through it.

Then the door right behind them slid shut.

"Oh, I really don't have a good feeling about this," Rodney muttered.

"You and me both, Doctor McKay," Gail added. "This just smells like a trap."

"Looks like somebody wants us to go down that way," Grace said. "But the question is, should we?"

"What choice do we have?" Olivia replied with dread.

"We always have a choice, Liv," Sam said, as she examined the door that had just slid shut behind them. "Let me see if I can get this open before--"

Olivia's eyes grew wide with horror when she saw thousands of tiny holes open up in the walls on either side of them. This spurred a ghastly mental image in her mind, and Olivia blurted out: "RAIDERS! DARTS!"

"EVERYBODY DOWN!" Sam quickly said, as she, Grace and Gail all dove to the floor.

"Raiders?" Rodney said, miscomprehending. "What are you talking about? There's nobody here, Oli--"

"Oh, you dopey son of a bitch," Olivia muttered, as she tackled him to the floor.

And just in time. For no sooner had Rodney landed on the floor with Olivia on top of him than there was a great swoosh directly above them. From the sight of Rodney's wide eyes, Olivia knew what she would be seeing even before she saw it. Olivia was still stunned at the sight of several thousand darts, all which were now embedded in the walls all over the room. Thankfully, the dart launchers didn't extend all the way to the floor, or else they would be Swiss cheese right now.

"Everybody all right?" Sam anxiously called. "Sound off!"

"I'm good, sir," Gail calmly said.

"Yeah," Grace added, sounding rattled. "Missed me too!"

"Raiders?" Rodney said to Olivia, with shock and consternation in his voice. "That was the best thing you could think of? Why not say, 'hey, get down, there's darts!' I could have been killed, and just because you weren't specific enough!"

Olivia just glared down at him. "You're welcome."

"For what?"

"Saving your miserable geek life," Olivia said.

She started to get off of him, until Sam shouted, "Liv, wait! Stay close to the floor!"

Rodney reached up and pulled Olivia back down against his chest--just as there was another loud swoosh just above them. Several more darts struck the wall on the other side of the room--darts that probably would have struck Olivia had Rodney not pulled her down.

"OLIVIA!" Sam called from across the floor with concern. "Are you hit?!"

Olivia tried to respond, yet Rodney was clutching her so hard that her face was momentarily pressed against his combat vest. She pried her head up just enough to say, "I'm fine, Sam."

"Yes, she is," Rodney said smugly. "Thanks to me."

"Oh, you conceited, son of a…." Olivia started to say.

"You're welcome, Olivia," Rodney replied with an arrogant smile.

Olivia cursed a blue streak as she crawled off of him, being careful to remain close enough to the ground so as not to present herself as a target to the darts.

Listening to Olivia's non-stop angry cursing, Sam just nodded at Gail and Grace and said, "Oh, yeah…she's fine…."

Olivia lay face-up on the sandy ground beside Rodney and took a deep breath in order to calm herself. This was not the time to lose her head--or else she really _would_ lose her head to these damn darts. "So what do we do now, Sam?"

"Wait, let me see something," Rodney said, as he held up his laptop. "I might be able to--"

"No, Rodney!" Sam shouted. "Don't hold it up too high!"

Rodney let out a terrified screech as another barrage of darts shot the laptop right out of his hands. It lay sparking on the floor by the wall.

"There goes our map," Gail said forlornly.

"I also have it loaded on my laptop," Sam told her. "Rodney, you ok?"

"This place is a death trap!" Rodney cried, as he pressed himself as flat as he could against the floor. "We're all gonna die here!"

"Yeah, he's still whining, so he's fine," Olivia told Sam.

"What about you, Ms. Archeologist?" Rodney anxiously said to Grace. "Got any worthwhile ideas to offer to the group? How about translating something?!"

Grace just continued to calmly stare up at the ceiling. "Well, there's an engraving up here. It says there's a dart throwing contest every Friday night. Does that help?"

Olivia burst into giddy laughter at that. She glanced over and saw that Sam and Gail were also giggling at the joke. It was a much-needed tension-breaker. "Good one, Grace," Olivia said.

Rodney just shook his head in disgust. "Our lives are on the line, here, missy! This is a fine time for you to suddenly develop a sense of humor!"

"What?" Grace said, with an annoyed look on her face. "You saying I don't have a sense of humor?"

"Don't let him bait you, sweetie," Olivia soothed her.

"Ok, everybody listen up," Sam said, all business. "There's only one way out of here, and that's the open door on the other side of the room."

"And how are we supposed to get over to it without becoming a dart pincushion," Rodney asked, "crawl?"

Sam just nodded at him as she flashed another of her brilliant smiles. "Exactly, Rodney. We crawl. Now get moving."

At first Olivia was apprehensive about crawling across the floor, not knowing what to expect--but once they were all more than halfway there, she started to relax somewhat. Of course, there was the unknown that faced them beyond the doorway--but, as Jack always said, one step at a time.

"I am funny, right?" Grace whispered as she crawled along side of Olivia. "I mean, I _have_ a sense of humor, right, Liv?"

Olivia just grinned at her. "Of course you do, Grace. Hell, if you didn't have a sense of humor, you'd never survive a day being a member of SG-1, right?"

Grace nodded somberly. "True, that."

**SG-1: SVU**

"What do we do?" TJ asked in a panic. "Dr. Zelenka, what do we do?!"

Zelenka stared at the trap that had been sprung before them in the narrow hallway. It was a series of large stones that stomped up and down against the dirt floor, looking somewhat like a strange, stone age assembly line.

There was no way to walk around the line of stomping stones, for they were perfectly cut to fit the hallway, so that there was barely a gap between them and the wall. What made it worse was that Major Lyman had previously ordered him and TJ to remain here while he, Keller and Hasseman went ahead to scout the area.

That was when the stones abruptly started stomping up and down in front of them. Zelenka and TJ had no idea where Lyman and the others were, or if even they were all still alive. And just when Zelenka thought about doubling back, a stone slab slid down in back of them. They were trapped here.

Their radios suddenly squawked, and both Zelenka and TJ smiled when they heard Lyman's urgent voice: "Dr. Zelenka, TJ, are you all right?"

"Yes, we're both fine," TJ replied. "How are you, Major? Did anybody get hurt on your end?"

"The stones started doing their little dance as soon as we were clear of the corridor," he responded. "Just hang on, we're trying to see if we can find another way around to you."

Zelenka shook his head as he keyed his radio. "That won't work, Major. A large stone slab has just slid down behind us, blocking the way out. We're stuck here."

"Dr. Zelenka!" TJ cried, as she pointed at something behind them.

"Oh, my," Zelenka said gravely, when he saw the slab that blocked their passage was now slowly inching up towards them. It wasn't enough that they were blocked from taking the only way out, but they were now being pushed towards the trap.

He started to explain the situation to Lyman--until something caught Zelenka's eye. It was the set of stomping stones in front of them. They didn't fall all together, but in a set pattern. Every other stone fell to the floor, while the accompanying set hung in the air--then the scenario played out in reverse.

"We could do this," Zelenka said with a grin.

"What?" Lyman asked over the radio.

"What?" TJ asked, with an alarmed look. "Do what?"

"Run through the stones," Zelenka replied, to the both of them. "They are falling in a set pattern, see? One up, one down--then it's reversed. Lieutenant Johansen and I can make it, Major. We have no choice, now, anyway. The slab is now moving towards us, pushing us towards the stones."

"He's right, Major," TJ said dismally. "We have to do something, and soon."

"Sir," Keller cut in, "we could just blow up the whole shebang."

"And risk killing Dr. Zelenka and Lieutenant Johansen?" Lyman replied. "I don't think so…. Dr. Zelenka, you sure you have a good chance at this?"

"We can do this, Major," Zelenka replied confidently.

"Very well," Lyman said. "We'll be waiting on the other side."

Zelenka turned to TJ and said, "Are you ready, Lieutenant Johansen?"

Although she nodded, the frightened look on her face told him that she dreaded what was to come.

"The impulse will be to run straight through," Zelenka told her. "But don't do that. Try and fight that impulse. Instead we go, stop, go, then stop again…all the way down the line. Ok, Lieutenant?"

"Ok," she said nervously. "Just one thing? Call me TJ?"

"TJ? Yes, I will--provided you call me Radek."

"Radek," she replied with a smile. "That's nice."

"It's Czech," he said with a slight shrug. With a glance at the slab, which was now pushing right at their backs, he added, "You ready?"

TJ nodded as she firmly took his hand in her own. "Now I am."

With his other hand, Zelenka keyed his radio. "Major, we're starting out right now."

"Best of luck to the both of you," Lyman said. "We're waiting for you with open arms over here."

"Ready, set," Zelenka said, as he watched the first stone as it dropped to the floor in front of them. Then, once it flew back up, he shouted, "GO!"

Still firmly holding onto TJ's hand, they both stepped forward directly beneath the hanging stone. Then, just as the second stone raised up, they jumped forward--just as the first stone slammed down behind them.

TJ had made a motion to start running, but Zelenka, who kept a tight grip on her hand, held her in place next to him. "Wait, wait, wait!"

Once the third stone raised up, they dived into the open space, feeling the wind blowing up behind them as the second stone slammed down to the ground.

On and on they went, stopping and starting, fighting the panicky urge to just run--until Zelenka could see Major Lyman and the others standing just behind the final stone.

"Last one!" Zelenka announced. "Ready, go, RUN!"

Both he and TJ kept running until the Marines reached out and caught them. It was only then that they truly felt safe.

"God damn," Hasseman said, grinning. "That was impressive."

"You two all right?" Lyman asked them.

"We're fine, thanks to Radek, here."

"Oh, it was noth--" Zelenka started to say, until he was surprised when TJ abruptly hugged him tightly.

"You saved my life, Radek," she whispered into his ear. "Thanks so much!"

As Zelenka hugged her back, he overheard Keller say to Hasseman: "Why is it that the chicks always go for the quiet ones?"

**SG-1: SVU**

Teal'c grunted as he plunged into the darkness. When his falling body brushed up against what felt like a tangle of vines, he dropped the staff weapon from his hands and reached out and grabbed a pair of vines. His grip slipped a few times, but Teal'c managed to get a good, solid hold on the vines so that it stopped his fall. It would appear that the jungle outside of the temple had broken through this wall--which was most fortunate for him.

When something hit him from above, Teal'c instinctively reached out and grabbed it with one arm. His instincts proved to be correct, for Teal'c discovered that he held a wiggling Lt. Hailey in his grasp.

The young woman was extremely fearful as she clung tightly to Teal'c. Her eyes were wide under the combat helmet that she wore. "Don't drop me," she pleaded, her tone extremely apprehensive. "Please, don't drop me!"

"Lt. Hailey, I have you," he calmly assured her. "I will not let you fall."

He stared into her eyes until she blinked--and when she did, Lt. Hailey appeared to be much more calmer as she took a deep breath.

Lt. Hailey nodded at him, a grateful expression on her face. "Thanks so much, Teal'c."

Teal'c nodded back at her. Then he glanced around the darkness of the chamber they were in, and was surprised to see his staff weapon on the floor about a few feet below them. Apparently, they were not as high up as he had thought.

"O'Neill!" Teal'c called. "Dr. Jackson!"

"Yeah, Teal'c," O'Neill replied. The direction of his voice sounded lower than they were. When he looked in that direction, Teal'c found O'Neill and Dr. Jackson just below them, both also clinging to the mass of vines that protruded from the wall. "We're here!"

"Are you unharmed?" Teal'c asked.

"Just barely!" Dr. Jackson replied. "But--yeah; no complaints otherwise, Teal'c. How's it going with you?"

"Where's Hailey?" O'Neill asked.

"Here, sir," she answered, "with Teal'c."

Teal'c glanced back down at his staff weapon. "O'Neill, the floor is just below us."

O'Neill glanced over his shoulder, then shook his head. "Sorry to doubt you, T, but I don't see it."

"Lt. Hailey," Teal'c said, "I shall drop you down to the floor, now."

"Ok," she replied. Yet the nervous look on her face belied the confident tone of her voice.

"Do you trust me?" Teal'c asked her.

She then gazed at him with a mixture of respect and comradeship. "With my life."

"Then hold onto my hand."

Teal'c slowly and carefully lowered her down to the floor as far as he could from his position on the wall. Lt. Hailey's feet still dangled over the floor, yet it was just barely a foot of space.

"You can jump down from here," Teal'c told her.

She nodded. "Yeah, I got it."

"Ready?"

She nodded once more. "I'm good."

Teal'c released her, and then nodded in satisfaction as Lt. Hailey fell to the floor and deftly rolled her body.

Teal'c then climbed down the wall of vines, picked up his staff weapon, and stood beside her. He glanced up at O'Neill and Dr. Jackson, who were still clinging to the wall of vines directly above them.

"Teal'c," Dr. Jackson nervously called, "where'd you go?"

In response, Teal'c reached up and grabbed Dr. Jackson's boot.

"Jack, something down there just grabbed my foot!" Dr. Jackson said in a panic.

"Yeah, Daniel, it was Teal'c," O'Neill replied.

Hailey cheerfully waved up as Dr. Jackson glanced down at her and Teal'c. "Oh," he said. "I see…."

"Now don't _you_ feel silly," O'Neill said, as they dropped down to the floor.

"You were the one who did not believe me when I told you the floor was directly beneath your feet, O'Neill," Teal'c reminded him.

O'Neill nodded. "Touché, Teal'c."

Their radios squawked, just before the voice of Major Carter spoke. "Carter to Colonel O'Neill," she said. "Come in, Colonel. Over."

"Carter," O'Neill quickly replied, looking very relieved. "Where are you? You all right? Over."

"We're fine, sir. We got through the dart room all right."

"Dart room?" Daniel asked nervously.

"This temple is just like the Mumani one, sir--only it's fully active," Major Carter continued. "The anti-intruder systems are all fully operational. Please be careful!"

"Uh, yeah, Carter, we'll be sure to watch our step," O'Neill sheepishly replied. "Who's with you?"

"Liv, Rodney, Lt. Satterfield, and Sgt. Emmuas," Major Carter reported. "And they're all safe, sir."

"Oh, thank God," Daniel said with a relived sigh, "everybody's accounted for."

As O'Neill and the Major continued to speak, Teal'c cast a wary eye on their surroundings. They were in a chamber that opened out to a darkened corridor. As far as he could see, there were no threats--yet when he glanced at Lt. Hailey, Teal'c noticed that she glowed, literally. When Teal'c approached her, he saw that, specifically, Lt. Hailey's face glowed a vibrant yellow.

Lt. Hailey glanced at him with a questioning gaze. "What is it, Teal'c?"

"There is a light shining on you," he said. When Teal'c waved his hand over her face, he noticed that he broke the light. He pointed in the direction it came from. "It emanates from over here."

"Jack," Daniel said, when he saw what Teal'c was up to. "Look."

"Hold on a moment, Carter," O'Neill said into his radio. "T, what's wrong?"

Teal'c saw it. There was a yellow glowing light that glowed in the darkness just beyond them. He gestured at it, and O'Neill, seeing it, nodded.

"Carter, we've found something down here," O'Neill spoke into his radio. "We're gonna check it out. Over."

"It's a light," Doctor Jackson said. "Shining in the darkness."

"Indeed it is," Teal'c agreed.

"What if it's another trap?" Hailey asked.

"We don't have much choice," O'Neill firmly replied. "There's no other place to go but in that direction. Carter," he added, speaking into the radio once more, "we'll stay in touch. But if you don't hear from us within twenty minutes, you're in charge. Get everybody out of the temple safely. Over."

There was in uneasy pause before Major Carter reluctantly said, "Yes, sir. Be careful. Over."

"You too, Carter. Over." O'Neill then gestured towards the light with a nod of his head. "T, you want to take point? I got your back."

Teal'c nodded as he led them towards the light, which grew in intensity the closer they got to it. The light turned out to be a single lantern embedded within a stone wall. Once they approached the wall, the entire room was lit up from lamps within the ceiling.

Teal'c instinctively crouched down, his staff weapon at the ready, just in case there were any weapons aimed at them. But his warrior's instinct, honed from many years of battle, detected none. Teal'c glanced at O'Neill, who gave him a questioning gaze, and shook his head.

"All clear," O'Neill announced. "At least for now."

Daniel Jackson approached the wall, upon which was written a text that Teal'c could not decipher.

"Can you read that?" O'Neill asked him.

"Yeah, it's ancient Celtic," Daniel Jackson replied. "It says 'Speak the name of the Sage of Arthur, and enter.'"

"And who would that be?" Lt. Hailey asked.

Daniel Jackson grew thoughtful. "Well, uh, if it means King Arthur, then his Sage--which is another word for a wise man--would obviously be Merlin."

Once Dr. Jackson had pronounced that name, Teal'c--as well as thew others--were all startled when the very wall itself cracked open before them. Teal'c was amazed to see another stone head that floated over a water-filled pond, just like in the Mumani temple.

The water then began to shoot up at the head, covering it with water, like skin on bone. The water began to take on the features of an old man with a pointed hat and a long, flowing beard.

Teal'c was further startled to see the giant watery head gaze back at them with intelligence in its eyes.

"Greetings," the head said. "And congratulations. For you are worthy enough to have reached this level of the Katula temple. I am your guide to the wonders that are stored within. My name is Merlin."

Teal'c and the others all stood in silent amazement for a moment. Then O'Neill quietly said, "I think we just hit the jackpot, kids…."

**To be continued....**


	15. Chapter 15

_I'd like to thank those of you who added this story to your alerts/favorites lists. _

**Stargate:** **SVU**

**Chapter Fifteen**

Daniel stood in awe as the water in the pond was somehow pulled up and around the floating stone head to create the visage of an old man with a beard and a pointed hat. The image was monochromatic; which showed nothing more than the silvery reflective surface of the water itself. Yet it was still quite a magnificent sight to behold as "Merlin" spoke to them.

'This was what the floating head in the Mumani temple was supposed to be,' Daniel realized. 'The water in the pool was meant to cover the head, like skin over a skull, and it would speak. But the power supply there must have been too far drained for it to ever work properly.'

"Rest easy, you seekers of knowledge," Merlin said. "For your quest is at an end. Your planet will be protected from the scourge of the universe by the use of these devices in this temple."

"Daniel," Jack said. "Is this the real Merlin?"

"I am but a manifestation of the Merlin of legend," the entity within the pool of water replied. "A slice of his consciousness, his soul--whatever term you may choose--that was left behind when he and the other Atlanteans left this galaxy."

"You can understand us?" Daniel excitedly asked. "And interact with us?"

"Yes, that was my design. My creator, the real Merlin, also designed an algorithm which enabled me to translate the language of whoever enters the temple. All I need is to hear it spoken."

"He said 'Atlanteans' before," Hailey pointed out with amazement. "Merlin was from Atlantis?!"

"Why am I not surprised?" Jack said. Glancing up at the water-covered face that hovered over them, he added, "You said that we were worthy to be here."

"Yes, by surviving the challenges of the temple that enabled you to reach this point, you are deemed to be truly worthy."

"There are other members of our team, scattered throughout the temple," Jack said. "What about them?"

When the floating head did not respond, Daniel spoke up. "They are with us. We got separated, but they are still our companions. If we are worthy to be here, speaking with you, then so are they."

"How about offering them safe passage down here?" Jack requested.

"There is a problem," the Merlin avatar announced. "All of my systems within the temple are not functioning within expected parameters."

Jack just rolled his eyes. "In other words, you're broken?"

Hailey stepped forward. "Colonel, this might have something to do with the dragon's bones we saw on the upper level."

"Indeed," Teal'c interjected. "The dragon might have caused far more damage than just structural."

"Very well," the Merlin avatar replied. "Given the situation, I shall shut down all remaining challenges and provide visual markers for your comrades to find their way down here."

"Mighty neighborly of you," Jack said.

Daniel leaned in and said, sotto voce: "Jack, what about Ba'al and the Jaffa?"

"Indeed," Teal'c added. "If all of the anti-intruder devices are being deactivated, then that shall create a clear path for Lord Ba'al and his Jaffa to come straight down here."

"First thing we need to do is get the team back together and marshal our forces," Jack said. "Once that's done, and the scientific brain trust is reunited, then we'll deal with Ba'al."

**SG1- SVU**

Gail carefully walked down the corridor with the others, taking up the rear of the group. She walked sideways, her gun at the ready, staying alert for any more nasty surprises--when she saw the man.

He appeared in the very same doorway that they had just come through, and was clad in flowing robes that were purple in color. He had a long white beard and a pointed hat that sat on the top of his head.

Gail, at a complete lost as to what to refer to him as, simply said the first thing that came to her mind: "Gandalf on our six!"

Everyone in their group turned around and pointed their guns at the man, who remained perfectly calm as he stared back at them--something which gave Gail the chills.

"Who are you?" Major Carter challenged the man. "What do you want?"

"Merely to show you the way to meet your friends," the man said, as he gestured off to the left.

Gail glanced back at the Major, uncertain of what to do, when their radios all squawked, and the voice of Colonel O'Neill came through loud and clear. "Carter, Lyman, this is O'Neill. You guys should be getting a visual marker of some sort from the dude who runs this place. Follow it. It'll lead you right to where we are. Over."

"Who is he, Colonel?" Major Carter asked. "Over."

"I am Merlin," the man replied with a slight bow.

Olivia's eyes grew even wider than they were before. "Merlin?" she said in amazement. "Like from King Arthur?"

"It's his avatar," Daniel cut in on the radios. "It's basically a hologram from a computer program. But that's not the best part. Wait till you see what we've found down here! Over."

"You guys _are_ getting some sort of a signal from Merlin, right?" the Colonel asked. "Over."

"Yes, sir. It's…well…it's Merlin himself, sir," Major Carter replied. "He's gesturing for us to go somewhere. Over."

"Aye, sir," Major Lyman reported over the radios. "We've got the same thing that Major Carter has just described. Over."

"It's no doubt a hologram, sent by our host," Major Carter said. Although she still appeared to be taken aback by the whole situation, she just nodded firmly and said, "Very well, sir. We'll meet you down there. Over."

Then, after an exchanged nod with Olivia, Major Carter glanced at the hologram and said, "Ok, Merlin, lead the way…."

**SG1-SVU**

Ta'lek, Ba'al's second in command on this mission, called the assembled Jaffa to order. They all stood at attention in formation of two rows on the roof of the temple, with their Alkesh parked in the background.

Once the lethal-looking assembly of Jaffa had taken their places and quieted down, Ta'lek gave Ba'al a nod and said, "The Jaffa are ready, my Lord."

"Gentlemen," Ba'al said to the assembly. "We were sent here to get weapons and technology for Her Lord Empress Neith. But the Tauri scum have beaten us by arriving first. Well, they may have gotten here first, but they will not leave this temple alive! Your job is to go back in there and hunt down every last--"

"LOOK OUT!" Ta'lek shouted, as he abruptly knocked Ba'al to the ground.

Just as Ba'al was about to ask what the meaning of this bare-faced insolence was, he was stunned to see a dragon swoop down low directly over him. The beast landed, its massive size and weight easily bowling over the assembly of Jaffa, and it grabbed two of the Jaffa and took off with them still in its claws.

Before Ba'al and his Jaffa could even react to that assault, another dragon dived down and grabbed several more screaming Jaffa. Many of the Jaffa managed to open fire with their staff weapons, but it was to no avail; the shots barely bothered the dragons as they flew off with their still-writhing captives.

"GET BACK TO THE SHIP!" Ba'al ordered, just as he watched a third dragon in the sky dive down on an attack run at them.

Ba'al, Ta'lek and a few other Jaffa had entered the ship in a rush; they just barely avoided having being grabbed by the dragon as it lunged for them. The monster misjudged the amount of room that it had and wound up crashing into the side of the Alkesh, before it stretched out its wings and took to the skies once more.

Ba'al shook his head furiously. There was no way they could effectively mount an attack with these monsters preying on them. It was time to change tactics. "Seal up the ship," he ordered. "We're taking off!"

"But what about the Tauri in the temple, my Lord?" Ta'lek asked.

"The Alkesh was originally designed to be a bomber, was it not?"

"Yes, my Lord. We have a full compliment of ordinance on board."

Ba'al smiled at him. "Then we shall bomb the temple, as well as the Tauri, into oblivion."

**SG-1: SVU**

"Holy Hannah," Sam muttered, once she got a good look at the massive, silvery visage of Merlin in the central hall. Jack, Daniel Teal'c and Hailey were there, along with Major Lyman and his team.

"Ok, that's even more impressive than just a floating stone head," Olivia said, equally awed at the mesmerizing sight before them.

Sam felt a twinge of jealousy when Daniel ran up to Olivia and they hugged warmly. She glanced longingly at Jack--at Colonel O'Neill--who strode up to her and nodded primly. "Major, good to see you again."

Despite his formality, the look of relief on his face was obvious, and Sam was all the more grateful for it. She'd take whatever she could get right now. "Thanks, sir. Good to see you, as well."

Jack frowned as he brushed away some bits of debris from her uniform. "You're looking a bit more…dusty then when I saw you last, Major. Are you all right?"

Rodney abruptly leaned in and said, "Well, other than having the roof almost cave in on us, and _then_ almost getting killed by the dart chamber from hell, I'm doing pretty good, Colonel, thanks!"

Sam had to place her hand over her mouth to hide her smile as Jack just glared at McKay as though he were something unpleasant that just crawled out from under a rock.

Then McKay, seeing Zelenka speaking with Hailey and Satterfield, excitedly went over to talk with them. When Hailey caught Sam's attention, the diminutive woman just cheerfully pointed down at the ground.

Sam glanced down, and at first she thought it was just another ring transporter platform. But then she realized that they all stood in the center of what turned out to be the drilling device. The driller was a large ring, about the same size as a transporter, yet the components were slightly different. Sam remembered from the designs that it was set up to be fitted onto the ring transporter of a ship. The device lay on its back, with the business end, the drilling emitters, facing skywards.

"It even looks complete," Hailey said, smiling.

Sam returned the broad smile that Hailey gave her. It was rather nice that they had found this; Sam really looked forward to playing with it later.

"Happy?" Jack asked, taking pleasure in her joy at finding a new gizmo.

"Very much so, sir," she replied, still grinning broadly.

"There are more toys in the adjacent rooms," he told her. "But first, we've got to deal with Ba'al and his boys."

"The drilling device is the most important device you will need," the Merlin avatar told them. Both Sam and Olivia were startled when the head spoke. They both shared a sheepish smile.

"For the drilling device shall dig through the deep ice to help unlock the weapons you need to defend your planet from the soul eaters," Merlin continued, "who, even to this day, continue to ravage the universe with their insanity."

Jack, looking confused, gave him a double take. "The ice? What ice? Where?"

"The thick ice which has since covered the weapons platform," Merlin replied. "Merlin, my programmer, has foreseen the shifting of the continents on your world, and realized that the weapons platform would be buried beneath layers of ice. You need to uncover the weapons platform swiftly, for it is your last hope against the undying legion of hate-mongers, the Ori."

Sam exchanged a puzzled look with Jack, Olivia, Daniel and Teal'c.

"The Ori?" Olivia said in a whisper to Grace, who just shrugged back at her in befuddlement.

After a sharing a look of confusion with his Marines, Major Lyman glanced over at Sam and asked, "The who?"

Jack then turned towards the avatar and said, "Um, excuse me? But who the _hell_ are the Ori?"

Just then, before Merlin could even respond, the entire temple began to shake violently under the boom of an explosion. Sam immediately recognized it as an attack; an aerial bombardment, most likely. The temple trembled once again, and then again as two more explosions rumbled through the thick stone walls. Daniel and Olivia hugged each other again, but this time to help keep their balance as the floor shook beneath them.

Sam watched in horror as a stone column was blasted loose and fell directly onto the Merlin avatar, smashing the head into pieces as it collided with the pond, creating a mini-tsunami of water in the process. The elegant water sculpture of Merlin was now gone--and from the damage that she could see in the crushed stone head, Sam figured it was gone forever.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Rodney cried.

"We're under attack," Sam replied.

"WHO?!" Zelenka asked.

"Three guesses who it is," Jack added grimly.

"Ba'al," Teal'c said.

Jack nodded. "Give the Jaffa a cigar…."

**SG-1: SVU**

"Excellent," Ba'al said with a grin. He watched as one of the dragons had tried to attack the Alkesh--which now hovered directly over the top of the temple--only to be shot down by the ship's heavy artillery. It was just as Ba'al had surmised; unlike the staff weapons, the dragons were no match for the firepower of the Alkesh.

Her turned to the pilot. "As I have told you, the dragons will no longer be a problem for us. The Alkesh's weapons are too powerful for them. Continue your bombing assault with ease."

The pilot nodded. "Yes, my Lord Ba'al."

After he regarded a console, Ta'lek came over to Ba'al. "My Lord, may I ask how much longer will you continue the bombing?"

"Until the temple is nothing but rubble," Ba'al replied, as he watched the bombs fall on the crumbling structure. "This serves three purposes, Ta'lek, we deny the Tauri access to this technology, we kill the insufferable O'Neill and his SG-1, and we can claim the weapons for our Lord Empress Neith from the rubble."

"Assuming anything survives the bombardment," Ta'lek said nervously.

"A true weapon that survives an attack like this will be a weapon worth having," Ba'al told him. Then he grinned. "And I shall look forward to using it on that damned Belial and his miserable Sons Of Darkness."

**SG-1: SVU**

"The corridor is blocked," Teal'c reported.

"So is the one over here," Lyman added.

"Sir, we're trapped down here," Sam said, her eyes fearfully wide beneath her helmet.

O'Neill wanted nothing more than to kiss her right then and there. But with the walls shaking, and dust and debris raining down from the ceiling under the constant bombardment, there were more important things to be concerned about at the moment. O'Neill wracked his brain, trying to come up with a solution to this problem.

"If only there was some way to shoot back," Olivia said in frustration. "Something we could use in here."

And that was when O'Neill got his idea, as crazy as it was.

He glanced at the drilling device, which looked to be about the same size as a ring transporter. "Carter, what would happen if we were to start this thing up?"

She stared at him as if he were insane--which was a look that O'Neill was used to by now. "It would start drilling, sir."

"In which direction?" O'Neill urgently asked. "Up or down?"

"It's stored with the emitters facing upwards, sir, but I don't see how--" She suddenly stopped talking when it struck her what he planned to do. And Sam's eyes grew even wider with shock. "Sir, please tell me you're not seriously thinking about--"

"That's _exactly_ what I'm thinking about, Carter," he firmly told her. "And I need for you to make it happen. Now."

Despite the look on her face that said she thought he was completely crazy, Sam called out to McKay, Hailey and Zelenka. When they gathered around her, Sam said, "Dr. Zelenka, are you still carrying the Naquadah generator?"

"Yes, in my backpack," the little Czech replied. He flinched when a large stone fell to the floor, just missing him by inches. "Why?"

"I need to hook it up to the drilling device," Sam told him. "Let's go."

The four technical brains went over to the ring-shaped device that lay on the floor and spoke amongst themselves for a moment. Then McKay shot O'Neill a look of horror.

"COLONEL, ARE YOU CRAZY?!" McKay cried, his eyes bulging out under his helmet. "Even if this thing _does_ work, firing it might weaken the temple to the point where it might come down around us!"

O'Neill just gestured all around them. "Dr. McKay, in case you haven't noticed, the temple is _already_ coming down around us. If this plan should work, then at least we won't have the Alkesh to worry about. You have about thirty seconds to get that thing started."

McKay just shook his head with disgust. "Oh, so no pressure, huh? Great, just great!"

Yet he went back to work, alongside Sam, Hailey and Zelenka. The temple now trembled under a series of explosions that were as frequent as a steady drumbeat. As O'Neill watched them work, mentally pushing them to go faster, Teal'c came along side of him.

"Even if that device should work, O'Neill," the Jaffa quietly said. "There is no guarantee that you will hit the Alkesh."

"Maybe not," O'Neill replied. "But a blast from this, even if it's just a near miss, might get Ball Boy to back off."

Teal'c nodded, conceding O'Neill's point.

"Daniel! Grace!" Olivia pleaded. "Come on, guys, please!"

O'Neill turned to see Daniel and Grace were both standing in the now empty pool, forlornly staring at the smashed head. The water had drained from the pool, leaving it empty. And as he watched them stare dejectedly at the damaged head, O'Neill was reminded of the fairy tale of Humpty-Dumpty.

"All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty-Dumpty back together again," O'Neill quoted, as he gazed at the wrecked stone head.

Daniel just glared furiously at him. O'Neill was familiar with that look; it spoke eloquently of the enraged frustration of having an answer so close to your grasp, only to have it snatched away at the last moment. O'Neill had himself felt that way many times in the past.

"Would you two _please_ get out of there?" Olivia said angrily. "That ceiling looks like it's about to cave in at any moment!"

O'Neill saw that she was right, the ceiling above the pool appeared ready to give at any moment. "Daniel, Satterfield, come on, let's go."

Satterfield got out as ordered, but Daniel morosely remained behind. "What difference does it make, Jack?" he sullenly asked. "We're all as good as dead, anyway."

"Daniel, do _not_ make me come get you," O'Neill firmly told him.

The veiled threat worked. Daniel finally stepped out of the pool. Olivia slapped him on the shoulder. "What is wrong with you?!" she cried. "Don't you dare give up like that!"

"The place is coming down all around us, Liv," Daniel frantically replied. "The exits are blocked. And worst yet--worst than the fact that we're going to die is the fact that we've failed earth miserably!"

"As long as we still draw breath," O'Neill somberly told him, "there is always hope, Daniel."

Daniel just shook his head. "Jack, you don't know if that drilling device will even work!"

"It _will _work," O'Neill calmly replied "Do you know how I know that? Because Carter is working on it. I may not believe in a lot of things, Daniel. But I _believe_ in Samantha Carter. And whenever she puts her mind to something--"

Just at that very moment, Sam looked up from where she was working on the drilling device and shouted, "I GOT IT! EVERYBODY GET CLEAR!"

'That's my girl,' O'Neill thought with pride, as Sam and the others quickly came over to where he stood.

"When's it going to fire?" Olivia asked.

"It appears to be fully charged right now," Sam replied. "So it should open fire at any--"

She was interrupted when the drilling device cut loose with a loud, shrill sound. And then it fired.

O'Neill watched, awed, as a solid shaft of white light erupted from the drilling ring and hit the ceiling--

--and then effortlessly burned straight through it to the next level above.

**SG-1: SVU**

Colonel Drumlin knew what to expect as he stepped through the stargate with the rest of his enlarged SG-3 team, since his forward Marine Recon scouts had already went through and reported back the all clear.

Still, the heat was very oppressive. And no matter how many times he'd seen them on several different worlds, now, Drumlin could still never quite get used to the sight of dinosaurs casually wandering around. There was a herd of some really big sons of bitches chewing on some of the foliage a few clicks to their south. But Drumlin knew enough about these big lizards to know that these weren't the man-eating kind.

At least he hoped so.

Lt. Edward Wildling, the commander of the Marine Recon unit, gestured for Drumlin to come over to his position. Drumlin knew this had to be bad news, for a subordinate officer usually never called a superior officer over to his position unless he had something important to show him. And when Wildling silently pointed at something through the foliage, Drumlin saw that it was a doozy.

Hovering right over the roof of the temple was a Goa'uld Alkesh-class heavy bomber. It was steadily dropping bombs onto the temple, which was crumbling apart with every blast.

"Damn it, this is why SG-1 was so late in reporting back," Drumlin said grimly. "Ok, let's get--"

"Colonel," Wildling said quickly, "look!"

Drumlin glanced back just in time to see a bright white light--it looked to be a laser of some kind--shoot up from the temple roof and smash right into the hovering Alkesh. Drumlin and Wildling both watched, stunned, as the laser effortlessly sheered off the front half of the Alkesh, which then exploded and broke up into smoldering pieces as it fell to the ground.

As Wildling and the rest of Drumlin's Marines all stared at what just happened with shock and disbelief, Drumlin himself just smiled broadly and said, "O'Neill, you crazy bastard…."

**SG-1: SVU**

"When's it gonna stop?" Olivia asked, as she shielded her eyes from the bright intensity of the drilling device's laser.

"I programmed the generator to switch off after a certain amount of time," Sam replied. She also held up her hand to block the intense light. "It should at any moment just--"

The laser abruptly ceased fire, as the Naquadah generator turned itself off.

"--stop working," Sam said, finishing her sentence. She appeared to be just as surprised as everyone else that the device worked so well.

O'Neill glanced up at the ceiling and was impressed to see a series of perfectly round holes that extended all the way up to the sky. Then he stepped back when something came tumbling down each level, bringing debris with it.

When it landed on the ground floor, where they all stood, O'Neill recognized it as the forward pilot's compartment of an Alkesh ship.

Teal'c stared at the wreckage, then glanced back with an approving nod. "It would appear that we got the ship, O'Neill."

Olivia let out a burst of laughter, as she, Daniel and Satterfield all shared a group hug. Then they reached out an dragged Lyman and the other Marines into their celebratory hug.

"Hot damn," Hailey said, grinning at McKay. "It worked!"

"Yeah," McKay replied, as he glanced nervously up at the temple walls. "And everything's still standing, too!"

"This is a sturdy old temple," Zelenka said with admiration. "They don't build these like they used to!"

A grateful TJ came over and gave Sam a hand shake. "Great job, Major!"

Sam smiled. "Thanks, Lieutenant. But it wasn't just me. It was the Colonel's idea."

"It's one thing to have a crazy idea, Carter," O'Neill said. "It's quite another to make it happen--which was what you, Hailey, McKay and Zelenka did. Superb work."

Their radios all squawked just then, and O'Neill heard the voice of Marine Colonel Gene Drumlin. "Sierra Gulf Three to Sierra Gulf One, come in. Over."

O'Neill keyed his radio. "Sierra Gulf One responding. Hey there, Gene! We're inside the temple. Over."

"Jack! You're coming in loud and clear, considering that you're inside a big structure. Are you and your kids all right? Over."

"We're all fine, Gene, thanks. And the reason that my signal is so strong might be due to the great big honking skylight that we've just put into this temple. Over."

There was a burst of laughter on the other end. "I _knew_ that just had to be you, Jack! We're on our way over to you, now. Over."

"Beware the flying dragons, Gene," O'Neill warned. "You and your kids should stick to the cover of the foliage. Over."

"Already doing that, Jack. See you in five. Over."

"Hope you've brought rappelling ropes," O'Neill said, as he peered up the newly created circular shaft that the drilling device bored through. "Got a long climb down ahead of you. Over."

"We got it all covered. Over and out."

O'Neill saw Sam speaking intimately with Olivia, Satterfield and Daniel by the smashed stone head. He glanced up and was happy to see the roof no longer appeared to be threatening to cave in on them.

When Daniel saw him approaching, he said, "Um, Jack, I'd just like to apologize for my little hissy fit before."

"Don't worry about it, Daniel," O'Neill said, deadpan. "We're all used to your hissy fits by now."

Daniel just nodded solemnly at the little jibe. "Oh, right," he said sarcastically, "thanks _so_ much for understanding!"

O'Neill gestured at the crushed head. "Anything salvageable from this?"

Satterfield shook her head dismally. "No, sir. The tablets within were also crushed."

"So Merlin has spoken his last, huh?" O'Neill said with regret. "Shame. There were so many more questions I wanted to ask him."

"Like the exact location of this weapons platform on earth," Daniel said.

"He said it was buried under the ice," Sam reminded him.

Daniel nodded. "Yeah, but that's still a lot of ground to cover. There's the North and South Poles, the Himalayas--"

But Sam just shook her head. "I think this weapons platform, whatever it is, is buried at the South Pole."

"What makes you say that, Carter?" O'Neill asked.

"Well, sir, if you recall the time when we accidentally came through the second stargate in Antarctica?"

O'Neill just waved his hand. "Carter, I'm--"

"Yes, you're trying to forget that incident. I know, sir," she said with sympathy. "But I think that would be the best place to start searching."

"I concur," Teal'c said, as he came over to them with Hailey. "The former location of a stargate would be the most logical place to search for the weapons platform."

"I thought the SGC already searched that area after they removed the second stargate and found nothing," Hailey said.

"Yeah, they did," Daniel said thoughtfully. "But the Merlin avatar mentioned that we would need the drilling device to get down to where the weapons platform is buried in the ice. Which means that it's _so_ deeply buried under the ice--"

"--that it would have been missed by the SGC," Sam said with a nod.

"It's certainly a valid idea," O'Neill agreed. "One that's well worth looking into."

O'Neill noted that the rest of the extended team had all come over to join the conversation.

"It only makes sense to search the South Pole first," McKay added. "It'll spare us a wild goose chase if we can find the weapons platform there right away."

"Another question I would have liked answered was what Merlin was speaking about just before we were attacked," Olivia said with dread. "I mean, just who, or what, are the Ori, anyway?"

"Uh, yeah, Merlin made them out to be the ultimate baddies of all time," Daniel said uneasily. "Which really doesn't bode very well."

"Like we don't have enough trouble now just dealing with the Goa'uld?" Major Lyman asked plaintively.

"As well as the replicators," Teal'c said dourly.

"Well, maybe, since the Ancients dealt with them, the Ori were either defeated or died out a long time ago," Satterfield said hopefully. "So we may not have to worry about meeting them at all."

"I truly hope you're right, Lieutenant," O'Neill wearily replied. "But, with our luck the way it's been lately, I wouldn't bet on it."

**SG-1: SVU**

When Ba'al awoke, he was still clinging to the bulkhead that he had been blown up against when the Alkesh unexpectedly exploded. He glanced around at the ship in a daze--only to realize that, instead of the ship, he found himself staring at the deep jungle. The bulkhead that he'd clung to had been blown clear of the ship, landing in the dense foliage below.

Ba'al got to his feet, and was immediately aware of a thousand eyes peering at him from the darkness that surrounded him. Animals hooted and howled all around him.

Night had fallen, and the jungle appeared to be even more alive now than during the daytime. There was a faint illumantion from the temple; Ba'al could see a set of disposable lanterns strung up all over the structure. They appeared to be of Tauri construction.

Ba'al realized that the Tauri had somehow destroyed his Alkesh and had plundered the temple. And from the looks of things, they were now long gone. Ba'al had blacked out for several hours--he should consider himself lucky that he had not become a dinner for one of these vile creatures by now.

He started running through the jungle, towards the stargate. Ba'al had to get off of this blasted planet and give Her Lord Empress Neith the bad news: that he had failed to procure the ancient weapons. And, worse yet, that these weapons were now in the hands of the Tauri.

Ba'al had managed to reach the stargate without being attacked--although he had been startled every now and then by a loud roar in the distance. He punched the symbols that would take him to the gate in the raptor maze. He knew that it would be safe, that the maze raptors would be penned up by now.

Yet, when he emerged out on the other side, Ba'al was surprised to find himself in a large hall within the royal palace itself. A squad of Jaffa surrounded him, all with their staff weapons aimed and ready to fire.

Then an order was shouted, and the Jaffa raised their weapons from Ba'al. He was grateful to see that it had been the First Prime, To'mar, who gave the order to quell the troops.

"Lord Ba'al," To'mar said, "we began to grow concerned as to your whereabouts."

"I thought I was coming through the stargate in the raptor maze," Ba'al said.

"This is that very same gate," To'mar replied, as they began to walk. "It had been moved here, under Her Lord Empress Neith's orders, because this hall provides better security."

"As I have seen," Ba'al muttered. "Where is the Lord Empress? It is most urgent that I report to her."

"In the royal hall, exactly where I am escorting you," To'mar replied. "Be warned, Lord Ba'al, for Lord Belial is there with her."

'Belial,' Ba'al thought hatefully. If only he were successful at Katula. If only he were now able to wipe out the filth that was Lord Belial, along with his damned Anubis troops.

'Troops which I gave him,' Belial thought furiously.

When he entered the Royal Hall, Ba'al found Neith seated uneasily on her throne, with Lord Belial pacing back and forth in front of her, as if displeased about something. Two Anubis troops, taking note of his arrival, began to snarl at Ba'al.

Belial gestured dramatically at Ba'al. "Behold, the prodigal son returns!"

Yet Ba'al paused when the Anubis troops stepped directly in front of him, still snarling viciously. "My Lord Empress Neith," he called. "I have most urgent news to give you."

"Come to me, Lord Ba'al," Neith said. "Troopers, let him through."

However, the jackal-faced Anubis troops ignored her order as they continued to growl menacingly at Ba'al.

Neith angrily stood up from her throne. "I said, let him through!"

"Troopers, stand at ease," Belial commanded.

The Anubis troops then backed off, allowing Ba'al access to Neith. The fact that Belial took his own sweet time in giving the order was not lost on Ba'al. 'He grows more and more impudent by the moment,' Ba'al realized. 'Even daring to flaunt his power before the Lord Empress.'

"Judging from the state of your attire," Neith said, "I take it things did not go well?"

Ba'al glanced down at the mud and dirt that was smeared across his tunic and nodded. "I regret to inform you that I was not successful, my Lord Empress."

"This is what happens when you send a lapdog to do a man's job," Belial gloated.

"Belial, silence!" Neith ordered. "What happened, Ba'al?"

Ba'al told her everything that occurred, leaving out the main reason why he had went to Katula--to get ancient weapons to use on Belial and his troops.

"The Tauri!" Neith said, once Ba'al was finished. "Damn them!"

"Why were you on Katula at all, Lord Ba'al?" Belial pointedly asked.

"I told you," Neith said, before Ba'al could reply, "I sent him to find ancient weapons for our fight against the other system lords. Don't forget your place, Lord Belial."

"My Lord Empress Neith," he responded coolly. "_You_ forget that, were it not for me, you would not be sitting there right now."

"Insolent dog!" an enraged To'mar said, as he and two Jaffa instinctively made a move towards Belial with their staff weapons armed.

But they were blocked by the Anubis guards, who snarled once more as they blocked the Jaffa from Neith. The clone warriors stood with their hands outstretched, the cobalt energy sparkling between their lanky fingers.

Ba'al glanced at Belial with a mixture of outrage and fear. Things had only gotten worse here on Mount Tanis in his absence, and they appeared to be reaching a boiling point right now. He still had a knife stashed within his tunic, and wondered if he could get to it and use it to kill Belial before the alien could bark further orders to his dog-faced monsters.

But Neith brought it all to a halt when she said, "Enough! We should not be fighting each other! We should be fighting the real enemy here, the Tauri."

"Wise words, my Lord Empress," Belial said with a bow. He gestured to the Anubis troops to back down, and they did.

To'mar and the other Jaffa only stood down when Neith nodded at them to do so.

"These meddlesome Tauri are becoming a nuisance. They have already assassinated you," Lord Belial intoned. "Just for that, my Lord Empress, they should be dealt with once and for all."

Neith sat back down and, after a thoughtful pause, said, "You are quite right, my dear Lord Belial. The Tauri must be dealt with."

She then leaned forward and added, "I have decided to place you and your Sons Of Darkness in command of an assault fleet comprised solely of your Anubis warriors. Your first mission, Lord Belial, will be to go to earth and subjugate the Tauri to the will of the Netian Empire once and for all."

"It shall be my great honor, my Lord Empress," Belial said with a bow. "May I ask what shall I do if the Tauri fight back?"

"Then you and your Sons of Darkness shall exterminate every last Tauri, Lord Belial," Neith commanded. "If they resist, then turn the planet earth into a lifeless wasteland."

**To Be Continued....**


	16. Chapter 16

_I'd like to thank MiaRose 156 for her kind words. Also, I'd like to give a shout out to those of you who added me, or this story, to your fave/alert lists. Thanks! _

**Stargate SVU 3**

**Chapter Sixteen**

Ba'al watched from the sidelines as Lord Belial entered the throne room and formally presented himself to Her Lord Empress Neith, fulfilling a ceremony which required him to report to her once his fleet was ready to take off. Belial stood before Neith, who regally sat on her throne, and bowed slightly.

"We are ready to either beat the impudent dogs of the Tauri home world into submission, or exterminate them completely," Belial assured Neith in a confident tone. "Regardless of how this mission turns out, you shall no longer need to concern yourself with the vermin who infest earth, my Lord Empress Neith."

"I am already relieved at having this thorn in my side be removed by you, and your Sons Of Darkness, Lord Belial," Neith said with a smile. "Good hunting, old friend."  
With another bow, Belial swept out of the throne room, accompanied by his Sons Of Darkness. All clad in their customary black cloaks, they looked like a flock of ominous birds of prey to Ba'al. The Tauri did not stand a chance against them.

Yet Ba'al could not help but be worried. For Neith to arm Belial with his own fleet of ships, manned only by his elite Anubis warriors, was a very dangerous move on her part. But, if nothing else, it least it cleared the throne room, as well as most of Mount Tanis, of the damned, dog-faced monsters. A glance over at To'mar revealed to Ba'al that the First Prime also looked very uneasy at this situation.

"Ba'al, To'mar," Neith said, as she got up from her throne. "Walk with me."  
With a perplexed glance at each other, Ba'al and To'mar strode behind Neith as she walked out onto an open balcony. She stood by the railing, resplendent in her gold dress and head gear, watching as the first of the Ha'tak fleet lifted off from the landing strip just on the edge of Mount Tanis.

"Tomar," Neith said, never taking her eyes off of the Ha'tak vessels, which soared into the air. "Once all of Lord Belial's assault fleet has left Mount Tanis, I want for you to arrange the rest of the fleet in the standard defense pattern in orbit all over the planet."

To'mar nodded. Yet he still looked uneasy. "My Lord Empress, pardon my bluntness, but I was not aware that the Tauri had a sizeable space fleet to threaten us with."

"They don't," she replied, staring at him. "The fleet deployment is not for a counterattack by the Tauri, but instead should Lord Belial and his forces survive their attack on Earth."

Ba'al smiled for the first time in a very long time. "My Lord Empress, you've just sent Belial on a suicide mission! How ingenious!"  
Neith nodded with a smile of her own. "The Tauri are supposedly protected by the Asgard. Lord Belial and his forces shall test the measure of the Asgard might. And if they should all fall in battle…." She just gave a little shrug.

"If I may ask, my Lord Empress, what if the Asgard protection of the Tauri is merely a bluff?" To'mar asked. "What if Belial and his troops are victorious?"

"Then we are rid of the Tauri once and for all. And Lord Belial returns to face the full wrath of the Netian Empire's fleet," she replied. "The Anubis warriors are fearsome in hand to hand combat. But, aboard an exploding Ha'tak vessel, they are just as vulnerable and helpless as anyone else."

Ba'al was stunned at the artful manner in which Neith had managed to back Belial into a corner--and all while making the alien think he would become a victorious hero. Yet there was one lingering problem. "If I may, my Lord Empress," he said. "Belial has still left some of his troops behind."

"That is what I wish to speak to you two about," Neith said. "I need to know exactly how many of the Anubis troops are still here, and where they are posted. Understand? Once you've learned their strength and deployment, report back to me immediately."

Both Ba'al and Tom'ar quickly nodded. "The Jaffa stand ready to fight for you, my Lord Empress!" To'mar said.

"The Jaffa will fight for all of us," Neith told him. "For it is high time we took back the Netian Empire from Lord Belial and his jackal-faced monsters!"

**SG-1: SVU**

Janet Fraiser gave Carson a smile in greeting as she entered the patient ward.

"Did you hear?" Carson excitedly asked. "SG-1 just came back, and the scuttlebutt is that they've brought back a mother lode of stuff."

Janet frowned at him. "Really? I haven't heard the stargate alert go off."

"That's because they didn't come back through the gate," Carson told her. "I heard that SG-1 had so much stuff that General Hammond had to send one of our Teltac ships to help bring them back with all the booty."

"Wow," Janet said, genuinely impressed. She glanced at the patients, eager to get back to more important matters at hand. "And how are _they_ doing?"

He gestured at an airman in bed with a cast on his leg. "Well, it's just as we suspected: Sgt Leavenworth did suffer a broken leg after all."

Janet shook her head slightly when she recalled that Leavenworth had fallen while trying to run up a flight of stairs while taking two at a time. "If nothing else, this might hopefully make him more careful in the future."

Carson then gazed over at the only other patient in the ward. "And then there's Mr. Quinn…."

Janet didn't like the tone of his voice just then. "Complications?"

"No, actually, he's healing very well--at least physically speaking," Carson replied quietly. "But I think the implication of what he's done has finally hit home for him, if you know what I mean."

She understood his concern. The mental state of a patient was one of the most important things that worked towards his healing. "I'll go check on him."

Janet put on her best smile as she consulted with the charts at the end of Quinn's bed. "And how are we today, Mr. Quinn?"

"Fine, Doctor," he replied with a smile that did not reach his eyes. "But I wish you'd call me Jonas."

"Jonas, it is, then," she said with a nod. She came up to him and asked, "I'm told you've been feeling a bit in the dumps, today?"

He stared at her as if she had just grown a second head. "In the dumps?" Jonas repeated, with a puzzled look. "I take it that means--?"

Janet mentally cursed herself for being an idiot. But it was so easy to forget that this charming young man wasn't from earth. "Sorry, it's a phrase we use to describe being depressed."

"Depressed?" Jonas looked surprised at first. Then he nodded. "Well, yeah, you could say that, I suppose. I mean, it's not easy to just walk away from your entire world, from everyone and everything you know."

"No, I imagine it can't be," Janet said sympathetically. "Do you feel like talking about it?"

"Not much to talk about, really," Jonas replied. "I mean, I didn't have much choice in the matter. My leaders were totally obsessed with the Naquadria; they were convinced that it would make for an even more effective weapon than what we already had in our arsenal. And the weapons we already had could wipe out Kelowna several times over. And then Lt. Kelso did what he did, selflessly giving his life to save others--saving people whom he barely knew! And I don't just mean the people in the lab, Doctor Fraiser, but the millions of Kelownans who also would have been wiped out had that Naquadria ignited."

Jonas just shook his head. "Yet, despite the fact that he committed such a heroic deed, my leaders tried to make Lt. Kelso out to be a saboteur who had been killed while caught in the act! They even wanted to press the Naquadria into weapons production as fast as possible. I finally saw my leaders for what they truly are, Doctor. And while it might not be an easy decision to live with at first, I feel that coming here with the Naquadria was certainly the right one."

Janet nodded, pleased to hear him speak his mind, despite the fact that Jonas initially stated there was nothing to talk about. He looked visibly better at having just vented his feelings on a matter that pressed heavily on his shoulders.

"Dr. Fraiser, please pick up," Sgt. Harriman's voice said over the base intercom.

"Excuse me," she said to Jonas, as she picked up the phone from the wall. "Yes, Fraiser here."

"Dr. Fraiser," Harriman said. "General Hammond and Dr. Weir would like you to attend the briefing for SG-1 in the conference room. It begins in about ten minutes."

"Very well, Sgt. I'll be right there." Janet hung up the phone, then turned to Jonas. "I'm sorry, Jonas. But I'm needed elsewhere right now."

"No problem, doctor," he said. This time, when he smiled, it was genuine. "I appreciate you listening to me rant."

"Anytime, Jonas. You ever need to talk, just say so," Janet said, as she turned to leave. "See you later."

When Janet arrived at the conference room, she noted that everyone seemed to be there, from both SG-1, as well as SG-3. Major Sheppard was also present, and he spoke privately with Dr. Weir in such a casual way that made Janet wonder if the stories she'd heard about them were true. TJ stood chatting amiably by the snack table with Lieutenants Hailey and Satterfield. As TJ animatedly described something that happened to her on the trip to them, Janet noticed how much more confident and outgoing she appeared--even more so than before.

Janet listened in fascination to TJ's story as she talked about how she and Dr. Zelenka barely made it through a trap within an alien temple. "And I owe it all to this guy," TJ said, as she affectionately pulled Zelenka into a one-armed hug. "He's the real hero here!"

"Oh, it was nothing, really," Zelenka insisted.

"Nonsense," TJ said, as she went to get a coffee. "If it weren't for your quick thinking, we'd both be a pair of pancakes by now. You want a coffee, Radek?"

Zelenka shook his head. "I'm fine, TJ, thanks."

TJ smiled when she saw Janet. "Doctor Fraiser, coffee?"

"Don't mind if I do, thanks." As TJ poured her a cup, Janet watched with amusement as Zelenka was confronted by Rodney and Bill Lee, who both stared at him in wonder and awe.

"What?" a confused Zelenka asked them.

"What do you mean, what?" Rodney said. "What's with you and TJ?"

"Nothing," Zelenka said. "We're just friends, that's all."

"Oh, yeah, sure," Bill said with a snicker.

"No, really," Zelenka insisted, as they walked over to the conference table.

"Thanks," Janet said, as she accepted her coffee from TJ. "Had a pretty wild time, huh?"

"Oh, yeah," TJ replied, as she and Janet sat down together at the table. "And you know what the crazy thing is? A part of me loved every minute of it."

'Her first trip off world as an official member of an SG team has changed her,' Janet realized, and not without some sadness. While she was very happy for TJ--who appeared to be very content at becoming a field medic--Janet was also a little sorry to see one of her chicks fly from the infirmary's nest.

Once Hammond convened the meeting, Janet listened to an even wilder story of how SG-1 was trapped inside a temple that was being bombed from above by Ba'al, and how Colonel O'Neill's crazy idea had solved that problem.

"Remarkable," Hammond said, once Jack was finished with his report. "Using the driller as a weapon against an Alkesh? Superb work, Colonel."

Jack waved a hand at the people who sat around the conference table. "It was just my idea, sir. These were the folks who made it happen. Carter, Lt. Hailey, Dr. McKay and Dr. Zelenka."

"Remarkable job, all of you," Dr. Weir chimed in.

"Yes," Hammond agreed. "It's also good to have all of you back safe."

"And with mucho toys to play with," Jack added. "We were planning on outfitting one of the Alkesh ships that we have in our fleet with the driller and sending it down to the Antarctic to look for the weapons platform."

"We've even managed to take three fully powered ZPMs from the Katula temple, sir," Hailey reported. "So when we do find the weapons platform, we'll have a power source for it."

"Very good." Hammond nodded. "The sooner we find the weapons platform, the better. But how do you know where to start looking?"

Sam leaned forward in her chair. "We figured the best place to start would be where Colonel O'Neill and I inadvertently discovered the second stargate, sir. That would be the most likely spot for an ancient weapons platform. We figure we can use the scanners aboard the Alkesh to look around for the platform."

Janet glanced across at the table at Olivia, who ignored the conversation by staring with concern in the opposite direction at something. Janet saw that Olivia stared at Vala, who sat at the far end of the table; she appeared very petulant, as if something bothered her deeply.

Janet exchanged a puzzled look with Olivia. Then she mouthed the words: "What's wrong with her?"

Olivia just shrugged her shoulders as she silently said, "Don't know."

"I'm pleased to say that we've got some good news of our own," Hammond told the group. "Dr. Lee, would you be so kind to inform them?"

Bill nodded. "Be glad to, General. The Anubis Disruptors are fully operational and ready to go."

"Anubis Disruptors?" Rodney said critically.

"Yes," Bill said. "That's what we've decided to call the weapons that Major Carter and Lieutenant Hailey created. It destroys the implanted chip that controls the Anubis soldiers, Rodney, remember?"

"Yes, yes, yes, I _know_ what the weapon does," Rodney said impatiently. "But couldn't you have come up with a better name than that?"

"The name's fine," Sam cut in. "But what about protecting our own equipment from the EMP burst that the weapon sets off, Bill?"

"We've been working on that, as well. We've created combat vests and packs--as well as radios and other electronic devices--that have all been lined with the Faraday design protective covers. You're ready to go on that front, Major."

Jack gave Bill a thumbs up in approval. "You the man, Bill."

"Yes, very nice," Rodney muttered, looking annoyed. "But, about that name, shouldn't we go with something that's a little more--"

Major Sheppard shot Rodney an irritated look. "We're working on a plan to protect earth from a possible invasion, and you're worried about a _name_?"

"Naming things is very important!" Rodney peevishly told him.

"The name is fine, Doctor McKay," Hammond said firmly. "Please drop it."

"Uh, um--yes, sir," Rodney quickly muttered.

Janet's attention was diverted by Olivia who leaned over and grabbed her hand. "Janet, look!"

When Janet stared at Vala, she was stunned to see that Vala was busy wiping tears from her eyes--that she had actually been crying. "Vala," she said, "are you all right?

"No, actually…I'm not all right," Vala said, as she bunched up a tissue in her fist and slammed it on the table. "I'm not all right--not in the least bit! There's been a great injustice committed here, and I'm surprised that none of you have even addressed it."

Everyone at the table now stared at her in shock.

"What injustice?" Daniel asked, concerned.

Jack sat up in his seat. "What happened, Vala?"

"Did somebody do or say something bad to you?" Olivia asked. "You can tell us, Vala."

"It's not me," Vala said, as she wiped the tears from her eyes one more time with the bunched up tissue. "It's the injustice that's been committed to Chewbacca! Why wasn't he given a medal?"

Janet just exchanged a wide eyed look of disbelief with Olivia, and then with Sam, as everyone at the table just sat there very quietly for a moment.

General Hammond still looked confused. "Who's Chewbacca?" he asked. "Colonel O'Neill, he wasn't mentioned in your report."

"Um, he's a character from Star Wars, George," Dr. Weir told him. "He's Han Solo's co-pilot in the Millennium Falcon."

"The big, furry guy with the sash?" Jack prompted. "Has a real nasty temper!"

"Don't dare try and beat him at 3D chess!" Sheppard added.

O'Neill pointed at him. "Or else he'll rip your arms out of their sockets! The very one."

"Ah, yes," Hammond said, with a slow nod. "I thought his name sounded familiar….he's my grandson's favorite from those films."

"You've _seen_ the Star Wars films?" Sheppard asked Dr. Weir. "You? Really?"

She merely frowned back at him. "Well, yeah, who hasn't?" When he kept staring at her, Weir added, "John…what?"

"Nothing," Sheppard said with a smile. "Actually, I think it's kind of cool."

Weir just rolled her eyes at him.

Vala just stared at all of them as if they were a pack of vicious monsters. "You mean to say that I'm the only one who's angry at the fact that Chewbacca was given no official recognition for his heroic actions? He was just as much a hero as anyone else!"

Teal'c abruptly sat back in his seat and folded his arms across his massive chest. "Actually, I, too, am concerned at the fact that Chewbacca was overlooked for a medal at the end of the first film."

"See?" Vala said, as she gestured at Teal'c. "Muscles here agrees with me!"

"Oh, come on," Jack told them. "This is very silly, you know…."

"Really?" Vala shot back.

"Of course!" Jack said. "Everybody knows that Chewbacca never got the medal at the ceremony because Princess Leia was too short to put it on him. She's a small woman, you know, she can't reach that high!"

When she heard this, Sam just let out a long, low groan of frustration as she wearily placed her hands over her face.

"Chewbacca couldn't have gotten down on one knee?" Vala asked.

Before anybody could even reply to this, the alarm went off as Sgt. Harriman's voice came over the base intercom. "Incoming traveler! General Hammond, Dr. Weir, please come to the control room."

"Never thought I'd be so glad for the interruption," General Hammond muttered to Janet, as they all went down the steps to the control room.

"It's Master Bra'tac." Harriman said from his seat at the controls. "His IDC checks out."

"Open the iris," Hammond ordered, as they walked into the gate room to greet their friend and ally.

Yet when Bra'tac emerged from the wormhole, his countenance was extremely grim. Seeing Hammond, he paused and nodded at him. "Hammond Of Texas."

"Master Bra'tac," Hammond said. "Good to see you again."

"It is good to see all of you," Bra'tac said solemnly. "I only wish it were a more joyous occasion."

"What is it, old friend?" Teal'c asked.

Bra'tac took a deep breath, as if bracing himself. "We have received word that a large armada of Ha'tak class ships of the Netian Empire are on their way here to you. They are under the command of the one known as Lord Belial. They seek to either subjugate you, or wipe you out completely."

What followed was a stunned silence.

**SG-1: SVU**

"We are in position, as you have ordered Lord Belial," Yoast reported from his console. "The fleet has taken up an offensive stance within the system's Oort cloud."

Belial sat in the command chair in the center of the peltac. "Excellent. Signal the advance group to move forward, into position around Earth."

"They are away," Yoast said, after he sent the attack signal. "I wonder how long it will take for the Asgard to respond."

"That is what we shall see," Belial replied, as he stared intently at the tactical display. "That is what we shall soon see…."

**SG-1: SVU**

"Damn!" Mitchell said, as the alarm klaxon instantly awoke him from a deep sleep in his rack.

"--not a drill," the female voice calmly spoke over the intercom. "I say again, this is not a drill. All personnel report to battle stations, on the double. All fighter pilots report to the triple C. This is not a drill."

"Yeah, yeah, darling, I got it," Mitchell said, as he quickly got dressed in his fighter pilot gear. "It ain't a drill…."

When he emerged from his cabin, Mitchell saw that the hallways of the Prometheus were alive with crewmembers all running in every direction as the alarm klaxon continued to blare overhead.

"Cam!" David Koki said, as he caught up with him in the hallway. "You believe this?"

"I just woke up, Davey," Mitchell replied, as they both ran towards the pilots' Combat Conference Center, or triple C for short. "I still think I'm dreaming!"

"Want me to hit you?" he jokingly offered. "Let you know you're awake?"

"No thanks," Mitchell replied. "I've got a bad feeling we're all about to get a hard slap across the face in a few minutes."

"Good morning boys and girls," Colonel Newell told the accompanied group of fighter pilots--some of whom, like Mitchell and Koki, had just barely grabbed a seat in the nick of time. "Sorry for the rather rude awakening, but there's a war on! Twelve Ha'tak class ships of the Netian Empire have been spotted by satellite telescopes on the edge of the solar system. These ships have now begun to enter the system, all headed for earth."

Newell paused for a moment to let that sink in. "And we believe that these twelve ships, which are more than capable of wiping out all life on earth, are just the advance guard of a much larger force that's holding back in the Oort Cloud. We're still waiting for confirmation on that, but it doesn't really matter, ladies and gentlemen. Because it looks as if the Netian Empire has decided to finally test our defenses. And we aboard the Prometheus are it!"

"Damn," Mitchell muttered again, as a cold chill ran up his spine. Full scale war with the Netian Empire. He briefly wondered what prompted this, until he realized that it didn't really matter--the moment that he had been training for was here. It was time to man up and get the job done, whatever it turned out to be.

'But _twelve_ Ha'tak ships?' Mitchell anxiously thought. He was confident that they could beat one, and probably could go toe to toe with two--maybe three Ha'tak ships. But twelve? With even more sitting out there in the Oort Cloud?

He grimly glanced at David and whispered, "We've got our work cut out for us today, son…."

**SG-1: SVU**

Casey had been on her way to the common mall, located in the center of the Hak'tyl, when she went to bid Char'el goodbye in their quarters. She had gratefully exchanged the BDU that she had worn at Stargate Command in favor of a far more casual outfit of bare feet, shorts and a tank top. But once Char'el saw this, he pulled her into a tight hug, where he began to passionately kiss her.

"You know what," Casey said dreamily, as Char'el now nuzzled her neck and deliberately worked his way down to her chest, "maybe the trip to the ship's market can wait…."

Yet when she glanced out the massive window of their cabin, Casey's eyes grew wide with alarm at the sight of the Earth as it slowly moved out of view from their window. "Char'el," she said, tapping him on the shoulder. "Look! The earth's moving!"

Char'el glanced out the window with a scowl. "The earth is not moving, we are," he replied. "We are leaving orbit."

"What?" Casey said with alarm. "Why?"

"We should find out," the Jaffa said, as he grabbed her hand. "Come."

They raced up to the peltac, which was a beehive of activity as Io'tan gave orders to the crew.

"Io'tan," Casey said. "Why are we leaving?"

There was a tinge of sadness within Io'tan's voice as she regarded Casey's casual outfit. "You appear to be dressed for a pleasant day at the market. Good. Perhaps I shall join you. I could use an enjoyable excursion right about now."

Casey just stared at her, as if she were insane. Char'el stepped forward and quietly said, "Io'tan, what is the problem? Why are we leaving Earth so soon?"

"Because Earth is about to come under attack by twelve Ha'tak vessels under the command of Lord Belial," she replied, with deep regret. "The Promethus and her fighter squadrons are preparing to meet them in battle. But we all know, from having seen the Netian Empire assault other worlds, that it will be for naught. It is a given that the Tauri, despite their valor and bravery, shall fall this day."

Casey was so stunned that she didn't realize she had taken a step back until Char'el had gently embraced her from behind. "Y-You still haven't said why we are leaving. Why aren't we helping them to defend themselves?"

"Because, as I so often say, Casey, this ship is filled with defenseless civilians," Io'tan explained. "We are ill-suited to wage war, even to protect ourselves. Our only option is to flee."

"But what about SG-1?" Casey cried. "Aren't they doing something about this?"

"General Hammond mentioned they were being sent on a mission to the artic region of Earth," Io'tan said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "But what can a mere commando team do now, during a time of all-out war?"

"If they're being sent out, then they must have a plan," Casey told her. "And helping to hold back Lord Belial and his forces might buy SG-1 some valuable time to complete whatever mission they're on."

"Considering the might that Lord Belial has at his disposal, whatever SG-1 will try to do now, will be but a fool's errand," Io'tan said despondently. "I am sorry Casey. But what has come to pass _will _happen--as much as we don't want it to. Just be grateful that you are safe here, with us. Take pleasure in the memories of your dearly departed world."

Casey grew alarmed when she thought of everyone she knew--Olivia, Elliot, Sam, Jack and even Rodney--being obliterated.

Yet Char'el gave her shoulders a firm squeeze as he stepped out from behind Casey and faced Io'tan. "Please mark my words," he said calmly, "for I speak them to you with only the greatest of respect."

Io'tan looked surprised at the formal way in which he spoke. Nevertheless, she nodded. "I shall hear your words, Char'el. Please, speak."

"You say that this ship is filled with helpless civilians, and you are correct," he said. "But not all of us are civilians, Io'tan. There are many of us, myself included, who are proven warriors. If you were to address the ranks of the Jaffa aboard this vessel, I am sure that you will find many who feel as I do right now."

"And what would that be, Char'el?"

"I wish to fight along side the Tauri," he replied. "The Tauri have been our best alllies, and if they should fall, then it would be a disaster for us--as well as for many throughout the galaxy who cherish freedom."

Io'tan shook her head. "You would ask me to strip this ship bare of its entire force of Jaffa? To leave us completely defenseless?"

"No, I ask only for a small group of volunteers--glider pilots, all--who shall accompany me in helping with the defense of earth. The remaining ninety percent shall remain behind with you to guard everyone aboard this vessel."

Io'tan looked stunned. "Do you truly believe you and a small group of Jaffa can make a difference?"

"SG-1 does _not_ go on fool's errands," Casey spoke up. "If they're being sent out now, then they must have an ace up their sleeves, Io'tan. If Char'el and the other Jaffa aid in the defense against Lord Belial, then it may well make the difference between life and death for earth."

"Regardless of the outcome, your lover may not return, Casey," Io'tan softly told her. "I hope you are aware of the consequences of what Char'el is asking."

"I am," Casey replied, her voice breaking. "And I wish to God that I was trained in the use of a glider, or else I would be going out there with him myself. But I realize that all the lives of an entire planet are at risk right now, Io'tan. And it's _my_ planet…it's my home. Please help us to at least give it a fighting chance against Lord Belial."

Io'tan grew very thoughtful just then. And as Casey watched her mentally wrestle with her decision, she absently reached out and grabbed Char'el's hand.

Casey needed the reassurance of her lover's touch just then--because she knew that, regardless of Io'tan's ultimate decision, a very hard and ominous time still lay ahead for all of them.

**SG-1: SVU**

"All twelve ships have taken up positions around earth," Yoast reported. "And yet, there is no response from the Asgard!"

Belial leaned forward and stared at the tactical. "Strange. Order our brethren to begin the first phase of the attack."

Yoast relayed his order--then he came over to Belial and whispered, "But what if the Asgard are holding back, in a plan to ensnare us, Lord Belial?"

"Then we are all dead, regardless of what we do from this point on," Belial told him. "But, my instinct tells me that the Tauri stand alone."

He stood from his command chair and walked to the center of the room. "I wish to speak to all of the Tauri. It is only proper that we give them a chance to surrender before we annihilate them. Signal the attack fleet to prepare for a planet-wide broadcast."

Yoast nodded. "Yes, Lord Belial."

**SG-1: SVU**

"Hello, Elliot," a familiar woman's voice said.

Elliot Stabler glanced up from his desk in the bull pen at the SVU to see his wife, Kathy, smiling down at him. His kids, Maureen, Kathleen, Dickie, Lizzie and little Elliot Junior were all there, as well. And while a part of Elliot was extremely happy to see them, another part of him cursed their timing. He had been hoping to call Kathy regarding the news of his new partner. Elliot had just discovered something about his new partner--something that he just _knew_ that his wife wouldn't like, and he was eager for the proper time and place to delicately break the news to her.

"Hey, honey," Elliot said, as he plastered a smile on his face. He got up and kissed Kathy. "What brings you guys down here?"

"We'd thought we'd come see you and take you out to lunch," Maureen said, as she and the other kids all hugged Elliot at once.

"You're still not busy, right?" Kathy asked. "When I called earlier, you said it was a slow day."

"No, no, it's perfect," Elliot replied with a smile. In fact, it _was_ a perfect idea; if they could get out of the One Six before his new partner returned, Elliot could use the lunch to break the news to Kathy. He knew that she wouldn't throw a fit, not with the kids present.

"Daddy," Lizzie asked solemnly, "is that man crazy?"

Elliot nervously glanced over at a guy who had managed to run away from the uniformed officers who were escorting him down the hall. Still handcuffed, the wild-eyed perp stopped in the center of the bull pen and shouted, "MILEY CYRUS IS THE ANTICHRIST!"

John Munch, Elliot's fellow detective in the SVU, glanced up from his desk and casually said, "Yeah…we know…."

"So what else is new, man?" Fin Tutuola muttered, as he walked back to his desk with a bundle of files under his arm.

"You…you believe me?" the perp said to them with a mixture of disbelief and relief. He was so shocked at this response that he didn't even notice when the uniformed officers came up from behind and grabbed him again.

"Of course we do," Munch told him. "What better guise for the antichrist to take over the world in than the body of an innocent-looking pop singer?"

"Just keep what you know to yourself, dude," Fin added. "Cause Miley's minions are everywhere, ya feel me?"

"Yes, yes, I will," the crazed man promised. The officers were now gently leading him back out of the bull pen. "Thank you so very much!"

"Keep fighting the mediocrity, brother!" Munch shouted after him.

"What the difference between you and that guy?" Fin asked Munch.

"I don't believe Miley Cyrus is the antichrist," Munch replied. "She may be a part of a vast conspiracy to divert the attention of the American public on a daily basis, but she's not the spawn of the devil."

Fin nodded. "Oh, yeah…that's ok, then."

Kathy stared at Munch and Fin with a despairing look. "I should have called and had you meet us outside. I'm sorry the kids had to see that."

"Oh, don't worry anbout _our_ kids, hon," Elliot assured her. "They're New Yorkers, they can handle anything!"

As if in response to this, little Elliot Jr. began to babble excitedly as Elliot took him out of Kathy's hands.

"Hey, Kathy," Fin said with a smile. "You meet Dani, Elliot's new partner, yet?"

"Daddy, they finally assigned you a permanent partner?" Maureen said delightfully.

"Uh, yeah…they did, honey," Elliot said anxiously.

"And his name's Danny?" Kathy said, with a pleased expression. "That's great!"

And right at that moment, Elliot did a double take when his new partner entered the bull pen. "Uh, yeah, um…."

"And here she is now," Fin said. "Speak of the devil."

Kathy's eyes grew very wide with suspicion. "She?"

"Dani," Munch called over to her. "Come meet your partner's family."

When Dani Beck came over and greeted Elliot's kids, Kathy turned and gave him a murderous glare. "I thought you said _his_ name was Danny…."

"It's Dani, spelled D-A-N-I," she said. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Stabler."

"Yeah, likewise," Kathy said, with a barely controlled hatred that was frightening for Elliot to see. She turned to him and added, "Speak to you for a moment?"

"Excuse us," Elliot said, as he handed little Elliot to Maureen with a weary sigh.

When they stepped over to the massive windows, Kathy just shook her head with disgust. "I thought you said you'd try and get a male partner this time out, Elliot!"

Elliot momentarily glanced out the window in exasperation. There were a group of people assembled on the roof of the adjoining building, all staring up at something in the sky. He actually wished he was with them right now. "Oh, come on, honey, you know I can't control who they--"

"It's bad enough that Olivia looked like a goddamn supermodel, but now your new partner looks just as hot!" Kathy angrily told him. "What, is that the new standard for women joining the NYPD these days? And why do all of these sluts have to work with _you_?"

"Kathy, be reason--" Elliot's attention was suddenly diverted back to the events outside the window. The people on the adjacent roof were now all pointing at something that was in the sky as they backed away in a panic. Elliot was startled when a large shadow abruptly blocked out the sun to all of Manhattan island.

"Don't you dare turn away from me when we're talking, Elliot!"

"Wait, there's something going out--" he started to say.

"I don't care if aliens are invading, Elliot! We need to discuss this right…." Kathy trailed off, her eyes growing fearfully wide, as she stared up at something in the sky. "Dear God in heaven, what is _that _thing?"

Elliot glanced over at where she was looking, and saw something that scared him very badly. It was a giant, pyramid-shaped ship that hovered directly over the city.

'Oh, Christ, no,' Elliot thought with horror. 'The Goa'uld!'

"What's going on?" Fin asked. He, along with the rest of the SVU bull pen, came over to the window and gazed upwards. "The hell is that thing?"

"Daddy?" Maureen cried, as she and the other kids all ran over to him and Kathy. "What is it?"

Elliot just grabbed his family in his arms and pulled them all close. He was about to tell them that everything would be all right. Yet for a Goa'uld ship to be hovering this low over midtown Manhattan, that really didn't bode very well.

The first thought that came to his mind was Olivia's well being. Where was she? Was she and the others in SG-1 safe? Or was the sight of a Goa'uld vessel looming over New York City a dreadful result of them all having been defeated in battle?

Before Elliot could reply to his daughter, something appeared just beneath the massive craft. It was a large image someone's head that was shrouded in a black cloak. Once it appeared, the children all fearfully backed away from the window. Elliot didn't blame them--even without seeing his face, the guy was still was one scary looking mother.

"People of the Tauri," the black-garbed figure spoke. His voice boomed throughout the man-made canyons of New York City. "I am Lord Belial, in the service of Her Lord Empress Neith. And today is the day of your reckoning. Either bow down and become loyal servants of the Netian Empire, or be slaughtered like the animals you truly are."

**To Be Continued....**


	17. Chapter 17

_My thanks to James Axelrad for his review in the last chapter. Also, my continued thanks to those of you who have favored either me, or this story. _

**Stargate: SVU 3**

**Chapter Seventeen**

The frenzied day in the Oval Office was disrupted by the abrupt appearance by a figure clad entirely in black. President Henry Hayes glanced up to see the tall figure, who wore a cloak over his head, spread his arms out in a grand gesture.

That was as far as he got before the Secret Service agents opened fire with their automatic weapons. Hayes watched, amazed, as the hail of bullets passed harmlessly through the figure and riddled into the wall behind him.

"Cease fire!" General Maynard shouted. "It's a hologram! Hold your fire!"

"It would appear I have chosen the right leadership to speak to," the black garbed figure said sardonically. "For you bear the paranoia as befitting of those who wield the true power on this planet."

'An alien invader with a sense of humor?' Hayes thought, as he slowly approached the shadowy figure. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. 'Still, at least the son of a bitch seems to be willing to talk….'

"Henry Hayes, President of the United States--one nation among many," he said by way of greeting. "And to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"

"Lord Belial, of the Sons Of Darkness," the figure said with a slight bow. "In the service of Her Lord Empress Neith, the rightful ruler of the Netian Empire."

'Sons of Darkness? Sounds like a biker gang….' Hayes thought. "If you wanted to get our attention, Mr. Belial, you've certainly got it. What is it do you want?"

"Your total and unconditional subjugation to the Netian Empire."

Hayes exchanged a look of disbelief with General Maynard. "I'll say this for you, Mr. Belial, you get straight to the point. But as long as we're not beating around the bush, my response is this: never gonna happen."

"Then bear witness to the systematic destruction of your civilization," Belial said, just before he vanished.

Hayes thoughtfully stared at the empty space where Belial stood. "Has Hammond taken off, yet?" he asked.

"Just lifted off now, sir," Maynard replied. "The Prometheus is already moving into position to pick him up. And we've just been told that SG-1 has almost arrived at their target area."

"So now the ball is in the hands of Jack O'Neill and his team," Hayes muttered solemnly. "Here's hoping they score a touchdown…."

**SG-1: SVU**

'I can't believe I'm in complete and total control,' Elizabeth thought, as she stood in the control room in Stargate Command. She had just watched as Jacob Carter left through the stargate to see if he could muster whatever help he could get from the Tok'ra. 'Me, a career diplomat, in charge of the most advanced military base on earth…who'd guessed it?'

"Are all off world teams home?" Elizabeth asked.

"SG-4 was the last of them to return, Ma'am," Walter said. "That is, with the exception of SG-1 and SG-3--but, technically, they're not off world."

"Right," Elizabeth said with a nod. "Shut the iris."

"Iris shut," Walter reported, after he hit a switch.

When Elizabeth turned around, she was pleased to see John standing there, watching her with his hands on his hips. "General Hammond has left the base," he told her. Then he frowned suddenly. "I'm making it sound like he's Elvis, aren't I?"

Elizabeth grinned broadly at that. "As far as _I'm_ concerned, Major Sheppard, General Hammond _is_ Elvis."

"Damn straight, Ma'am," Walter firmly agreed.

John nodded, then turned to leave. "Well, if there's nothing else…."

"Actually, I was wondering if you'd stay, Major," Elizabeth said hopefully. "I could use your military advice right about now."

"Even if Belial targets the SGC, you just did the best thing by closing the iris," John told her. "And as a far as a full on assault goes, we're protected by the mountain--but something like that may not come for a while, assuming it even happens at all."

Elizabeth gave him a mock frown. "You saying you've got something better to do, Major?"

"Not at all," he replied, as he gently touched her arm. "Being the leader of the only diplomatic SG team during a full scale war is pretty much a guarantee that you're not going to be busy. But, you know full well that you could have just ordered me to stay."

"I wasn't asking you as just the SGC commander, John," she whispered. "You know that I have the utmost faith in SG-1, but the odds are really stacked against us this time. We don't know what's coming, John. And, for all we know, we may not be together after--"

He placed his hand on her shoulder, and Elizabeth immediately felt comforted by his touch--so much so that she wished they were alone, so they could both freely express their love for each other.

"We're together now," John said, sotto voce. "And we we'll remain together until the bitter end of this mess, no matter what the outcome. You've got my promise on that. Just don't give up hope, Elizabeth."

Before she could reply, they were interrupted by the sound of somebody clearing his throat. Elizabeth glanced over and saw Rodney standing nearby. He nodded uneasily at them. "Didn't mean to interrupt."

"You're not, Rodney," Elizabeth said. "Don't ever worry about that."

"Didn't you say that you were going with SG-1?" John asked.

"I was. At least, that was the plan. But Colonel O'Neill told me to stay here. He told me that, just in case things go bad and they fail, the SGC will need every brain it has at its disposal." Rodney appeared crestfallen. "Hey…things really aren't looking that good, huh?"

"We're not dead, yet, Rodney," John said. The ease and confidence that he spoke those words gave much strength to Elizabeth.

"Yeah, well, anyway, I just wanted to tell you that the communications relay systems are set up," Rodney informed them. "All communications between the SGC and the outside world will now be relayed through the Prometheus--for as long as it survives the coming battle, of course. And now, if you'll excuse me."

"Where are you going?" Elizabeth asked.

"I've got nothing further to do, now," Rodney said anxiously. "So I figure I'd go to my quarters and curl up into the fetal position on the floor…."

"Rodney, I've just asked John to stay here because I could use his military advice," Elizabeth said. "I could also use a science advisor, as well."

"Really?" he said. "Well, I think Zelenka isn't doing anything right now…."

John just shook his head in disbelief. "Rodney, she's asking you!"

"Oh, me?" Rodney said, surprised. "You want me to stay here?"

"I'm assuming you'd really rather not go curl up into the fetal position in your quarters," Elizabeth said.

"Oh, no, no, no!" he replied, looking more upbeat. "I'd be happy to help."

"Dr. Weir," Walter called from the main console. "We've just received word that all of the Goa'uld ships hovering over the major cities have begun to open fire."

"Dear God," Elizabeth said with a gasp of horror. The metal image of a Ha'tak just hovering over one of their cities was bad enough, but the thought of it raining death upon the millions of citizens below was nightmarish, to say the least.

"Looks like keeping the stargate program a secret is gonna be much harder, now, huh?" Rodney said timidly.

John just shot him a hard look. "Keeping the stargate program a secret is the _least_ of our troubles right now, Rodney."

**SG-1: SVU**

"So much for the protection of the Asgard," Belial gloated, as he watched the satisfying results on the tactical screens, which showed the twelve lead ships having already started their barrage upon the Tauri infrastructure. Once their creature comforts were destroyed, it would not take long for the Sons Of Darkness to break the back of the Tauri.

"My Lord, we have picked up a most strange reading," Yoast reported from his console.

Belial glanced away from the screens. "What is it?"

"A most peculiar craft has entered the airspace of the extreme southern continent, what they call Antarctica," Yoast said. Then he appeared to be taken aback by the readings on his console. "The craft is an Alkesh, my Lord!"

"One of ours?"

"Negative, my Lord Belial," Yoast replied. "All twelve Ha'tak ships are engaged in artillery bombardment only, as per your orders. None of them report launching smaller vessels."

"It must be an Alkesh that was captured by the Tauri. They are up to something," Belial said. He glanced back at the tactical display and looked for the closest Ha'tak in the invasion fleet. "Signal the Ha'tak over Buenos Aires to cease its attack and move in on the Alkesh. They are to destroy it and all aboard. Then have them level all the Tauri bases on Antarctica for good measure."

Yoast bowed. "It shall be done, my Lord."

**SG-1: SVU**

Colonel Newell saluted the man who emerged from the Teltac ship that had just landed on the starboard flight deck of the Prometheus.

"General Hammond, it's a pleasure to see you, sir," he said.

"Thank you, Colonel," Hammond replied, as he quickly returned the salute. "I must say that my taking command of this ship from you is not a reflection on you. I am doing so at the direct order of the President."

"I stand relieved of command, sir," Newell replied. They both started walking briskly towards the bridge. "And I must say, General, how pleased I am to have your expertise with us."

"What's the latest reports, Colonel?"

"Not good, sir. The Ha'tak ships have begun to systematically wipe out our global communications," Newell reported. "Starting with the satellites. Cell phone usage is down all across the planet, now, sir. On top of that, they've also begun wiping out our power grids."

"What about SG-1?"

"They've arrived at Antarctica, but we've received reports of one of the Ha'tak ships over South America ceasing its attack and is now moving towards the South Pole."

"Damn it, they've been spotted. No doubt Belial has more ships further out, watching the progress of the battle," Hammond said with a shake of his head. "We need to get to Antarctica, Colonel Newell, pronto!"

"We're already on our way, sir!"

**SG-1: SVU**

Just as Elliot feared, when he brought his family out on the street, New York City was in a full-blown panic, with screaming people running in a frenzy all over. Cars were left abandoned in traffic, with some vehicles having crashed into each other, or into buildings. Fires had broken out, and were promptly ignored by the rampaging crowds who struggled to find a way out of the city.

"REPENT!" a wild-eyed man shouted. "Repent, now, for the end times are here! The rapture has come!"

Elliot tried to ignore the guy who ran up the street, waving his arms, screaming about the end of the world. But the problem was, Elliot couldn't really ignore him, because he wasn't so sure if the guy was wrong.

A glance up at the sky showed the massive Goa'uld ship that hovered directly over the city, looking very much like a hulking behemoth from out of one of those science fiction movies where aliens invaded the world. Only now, it didn't look as if the Goa'uld were intent on invading them. From the actions of the ship--which fired a steady barrage of lasers off into the distance surrounding the city--it appeared as if the Goa'uld were hell-bent on squashing them like bugs.

"They're not shooting directly on the city!" Dani observed.

"Are they saving us for last?" a terrified Maureen asked.

Elliot just helplessly shrugged at first, not understanding the Goa'uld battle tactics--until he saw that the traffic lights on the corner were out, and instantly realized that the power on the city block was down. "They're wiping out the power grid, first," he told them. "I think they may be trying to cut us off from the rest of the world, first. You know, starve us into submission."

"Oh, my God!" Kathy cried. She pressed Elliot Jr. tightly to her chest. Maureen and Kathleen hugged her while the twins clutched onto Elliot's sides.

"Cell phone service is gone," Dani said, as she dismally stared at her phone.

"You may be right, Elliot."

Captain Cragen and Munch appeared on the front steps and waved at them. "Elliot," Cragen called. "Get your family inside, now!"

"We were thinking of bugging out, Cap," Elliot replied. "Getting out of the city while we still got a chance…."

Much shook his head as he pointed at the pyramid-shaped vessel that hovered over them. "That thing just blasted all of the bridges and tunnels! The only way out of the city now is North and all roads through there are already jammed with people!"

"Elliot, the precinct basement used to be a bomb shelter--and it still is!" Cragen said. "It's built with reinforced concrete. I've got people stocking it now with food and water. I don't really know if it can withstand aliens, but it's better than nothing!"

"He's right," Elliot said to Kathy. "Maybe we should tough it out here."

"I guess so," Kathy replied. Then she burst into tears. "Oh, God, Elliot!"

Elliot wanted nothing more than to assure both Kathy and the kids that everything would be all right. But how the hell could he say something like that to them now? In the face of the complete and total annihilation of their civilization?

"Come on, let's get inside!" Elliot said, as he shepherded them back into the precinct house. He turned and saw Dani still stood on the sidewalk, staring up into the sky.

Elliot saw what had caught her attention. There were a series of bright flashes directly in front of the Goa'uld ship. Then Elliot watched as the massive vessel opened fire on these tiny flying things that looked like gnats. When the neighborhood began to be hit with the flaming debris of what were once fighter planes, Elliot realized that the Air Force had just attacked the Goa'uld vessel.

And lost.

As the burning fuselage of what was once a fighter crashed into the street in front of them, Elliot went over and grabbed Dani by the arm.

"C'mon," he told her. "You're coming to the shelter with the rest of us."

As she ran along side him and his family, Dani had a mixture of disbelief and admiration on her face. "I just met you today, Elliot, and already I'm glad to be your partner…."

Elliot smiled at her as they all took cover inside the shelter downstairs. Yet despite the fact that his wife, children and friends were all safe, Elliot still had an empty feeling in his soul. Because there was still one member of his family who was unaccounted for, and Elliot was fiercely concerned for her safety.

'Olivia, wherever the hell you are on this crazy day, please be safe,' Elliot thought. 'Just please be safe!'

**SG-1: SVU**

"She would have loved you, you know."

Olivia glanced over at Daniel, who had spoken those words. They sat next to each other aboard the Alkesh as it soared halfway across the planet, towards the Artic wasteland. While they were in transit, there was nothing for her and Daniel to do but nervously wait--along with Grace, Jennifer, TJ and the group of Marines who all sat patiently with them in the cargo hold.

"Who?" Olivia asked.

"Sha're," Daniel said softly. "She really would have loved you, Liv. You're like her in many ways. Very earthy, and compassionate."

"I wish I could have known her," Olivia said wistfully.

There was a sudden shift in mood in Daniel just then, from thoughtful to pensive. "And I wish you had stayed back at the SGC, Liv. Because I don't know what I'd do if anything happened to you. I mean, I barely held onto my sanity when I lost Sha're, and--"

Olivia took his hand in her own and squeezed it gently. "Hush. None of that talk."

Daniel shook his head. "You've got to admit, that it doesn't look good. The invasion fleet's already in orbit, hovering right over our damn cities, and we still haven't even reached the site yet--assuming we even find anything."

Olivia realized that he was nervous about the upcoming mission; she knew full well how Daniel felt, because she was apprehensive about it herself. She decided to try a different tactic. "Do you remember when we first met?"

"Yeah, when Teal'c and I discovered you in the installation where they had you in suspended animation." Daniel smiled at the memory. "You were so panicky that Teal'c had to shoot you with his zat."

"Helluva first date, huh?" Olivia said with a grin. "Would you believe that it's been almost a year ago, now?"

"Yeah, time flies," Daniel said in agreement.

"And in that time, if there's anything that I've learned from hanging out with you guys, it's that you never give up hope. And there's no reason to let go of hope now," Olivia told him. She leaned into his ear and whispered, "And, besides, should this turn out to be our last stand, there's no place I'd rather be than by your side, Daniel."

"You're too good for me," Daniel whispered back. He appeared to be getting emotional. "I really don't deserve you."

"Yes, you do, Daniel," she replied, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"No, I haven't been much of a boyfriend to you," he said regretfully. "I love you, Liv, I truly do. But, because of Sha're, because of her memory, I've been hesitant in my feelings for you. I haven't let you in as much as I should have. And I regret that--especially now, since we may well be facing the end."

"You've lost your wife, the woman who was the love of your life, and you needed time," Olivia told him. "I understand, Daniel. Believe me, I do."

"I will always love and honor Sha're, but I promise you that things will be different between us," Daniel told her. "Hell, maybe we'll move in together...you know, after this is over. Assuming…things go our way, which might be a pretty tall order to hope for, but it's something for us to look forward to, right?"

"Always aim for the stars." Olivia nodded as she squeezed his hand once more. "Yeah, that's it. There's the hope that I was talking about."

'And if things go bad, and we don't make it,' Olivia thought, 'then at least we'll still be together, buried under the ice, waiting for archeologists to discover our remains in some distant future. I just hope we don't get judged too harshly by them.'

Olivia left her gloomy thoughts unspoken. For as she glanced around at the solemn faces of her fellow teammates, she realized that each of them were already glumly musing over the upcoming mission. All of them were clad in black BDUs with special combat vests, packs and radios made from the silvery Faraday design pattern, which was meant to protect their electronic equipment from the EMP blasts of the Anubis Disruptors that they all packed, along with their regular weapons.

Olivia smiled slightly at how the black and silver ensemble they all wore gave them a real sci-fi look. And she just couldn't keep this to herself. "Hey," she said to the group, gesturing to her outfit, "we look like something out of Starship Troopers!"

Olivia was pleased that her joke made everybody laugh.

"Haven't even seen Starship Troopers," Gail said. "What's that, a movie?"

"Yeah," Grace replied, "one of the best comedies ever made!"

"It's actually a film about soldiers battling an alien invasion," Daniel said.

"Oh, you mean it's a documentary about us?" Jennifer spoke up.

This brought on another bout of laughter from the group.

When Colonel Drumlin appeared at the open doorway, he smiled slightly. "Good to see you're all in a good mood. Because we've just received word from the SGC. They say that the twelve Ha'tak ships which are hovering over the major cities have all opened fire."

"Good Christ," one of the Marines muttered in dismay.

Olivia had a horrific vision of Elliot and his family fleeing marauding Netian Empire troops in the streets of a burning and ruined New York City.

"Colonel?" Olivia urgently asked. "Any reports on casualties?"

Drumlin shook his head in the negative. "They appear to be destroying the power grid and communications. There are rumors that the Chinese have already started attacking the Ha'tak over Beijing." Drumlin glanced over his shoulder at something, then added, "We're coming up on the target site; members of SG-1, report to the pilot's station."

Olivia, Daniel, Jennifer and Grace all got to their feet and walked out of the cargo section. When she felt something hit the side of her combat boot, Olivia glanced down at Gail, who remained seated on the floor with her fellow Marines. She had gently kicked Olivia.

"Good hunting," Gail told her.

Olivia smiled back at her as she left the room. When Olivia entered the spacious pilot's section, located at the extreme forward compartment of the ship, she saw Teal'c and Master Bra'tac seated at the twin pilot seats. Olivia felt a great deal of gratitude and love for Master Bra'tac, who insisted on coming along with them on what may well be a suicide mission, even though he could have easily returned home to safety.

Jack stood over Sam with his arms folded while she regarded a screen on a side console with an intense look. Beside Jack was an ominous looking box, about the length of a coffee table, that was nicknamed 'Little Nellie' by the Marines. When Olivia asked earlier what it was, all she had been cryptically told was that it was a specially designed device that Jack had requested be brought with them.

"Hailey, help Carter," Jack told Jennifer.

"You scanning for the weapons platform?" Jennifer asked Sam, as she came over to her.

Sam nodded without taking her eyes off the screen. "We're over the area where we found the second stargate. And I think I may have already found something. The scanner's picking up a large area just to the southwest of where the gate used to be."

"Yeah, I confirm your findings," Jennifer said with a nod.

"Can we get through by simply going back into where the gate used to be?" Jack asked.

Sam shook her head. "Can't do that, sir. This area I've discovered is completely sealed off from the chamber where we discovered the second gate."

"Then we drill?" Olivia asked.

"We drill," Jack told her. He nodded at Sam. "It's your call, Carter."

"Colonel Drumlin," Sam called over to the Marine. "I'd like to request your help here, sir, since your people will be defending this position."

"We also need to be careful that we're not drilling into anything important, Major," Jennifer reminded her. "We need to select a position away from whatever machinery's down there."

"Right," Sam muttered, as she and Drumlin intensely stared at the display before them. "Out of the way and still defensible."

"I'd like something up against the wall, if possible, Major," Drumlin told her. "A corner, maybe? A nice, tight spot to pin enemy troops up against."

"There," Sam pointed at something on the screen. "It's an alcove that's off to the side of the larger space." Sam consulted a reading on the console. "And it's just the perfect size for the ring transporter--it might even be the original ring transporter pad."

Jack nodded. "That's it, then. Fire up the driller."

The Alkesh shuddered as the drilling ring, which was attached to the bottom of the ship, around its ring transporter, opened fire. Olivia watched on a view screen as a glowing white beam of light bored through the ice that they hovered over.

"We're through!" Sam called triumphantly.

"That was quick," Olivia marveled.

"A perfectly clean shaft," Jennifer reported from the console. "And we're in alignment, Colonel O'Neill; we can ring straight down."

Jack glanced at Drumlin and said, "Let's move them out, Gene."

"You got it, Jack," Drumlin said. He stormed into the cargo bay and began shouting orders for the Marines to get ready.

"Hailey, you got the ZPMs?" Jack asked.

She nodded as she slung a pack over her shoulder. "Right here, sir."

"Master Bra'tac, please inform General Hammond that we've found what looks like the weapons platform and have gone down to check it out," Jack told the Jaffa.

"Take care, old friend," Teal'c said, as he got up out of his seat. "It is a given that Lord Belial's forces shall be upon this position very shortly."

"And they shall find a fully armed Alkesh ready and waiting for them," Bra'tac cheerfully replied. "I shall be sure to save you some of the enemy to kill, Teal'c."

Teal'c smiled as he picked up his gear.

"I'd like for somebody to remain behind with Master Bra'tac," Jack called to the group. "Offer him some back up. Any volunteers?"

Daniel shot a hopeful look at Olivia, as if wishing she would stay behind. Yet Olivia just shook her head at him. "Where you go, I go, remember?"

When nobody spoke up, Drumlin shouted, "Emmaus! You just volunteered!"

"Oh, but, Sir…"

"No lip, Sergeant," the Marine Colonel ordered. "Take a seat at the pilot's console and provide back up for the Jaffa Master, double time!"

"I'm never gonna get to kick Goa'uld ass," Gail angrily muttered, as she walked past Olivia and Daniel, who both exchanged a look of disbelief at Gail's disappointment at missing all the action.

"Do not crave battle, Sergeant," Bra'tac said, when Gail petulantly took a seat next to him. "For it shall come to you soon enough. Would you be so kind as to operate the ring transporter for me?"

Gail was still grumbling even as she got up to operate the ring transporter controls. Olivia nervously watched as Teal'c ringed down with Colonel Drumlin, Major Lyman and a group of the SG-3 Marines. After a few tense moments, Teal'c radioed back an all-clear.

"That's it," Jack said, "let's move out."

Jennifer and Sam carried the box containing Little Nellie over onto the ring transporter pad, as Jack, Olivia, Daniel, Sam, Grace and TJ stepped on. When Jack gave a nod that they were ready, Gail hit the button.

Olivia braced herself as the transport rings jumped up all around them--then everything disappeared in a flash of white light. When the flash was gone, Olivia found herself standing on a smooth platform that was surrounded by ice-covered walls. The rings dropped down into the floor.

Olivia let out a breath that was frost-covered, as she felt the chilliness of their surroundings close in around her. She was grateful now to be wearing her bulky artic gear, seeing how they were now several thousand feet beneath the glacial ice.

"Gene, report," Jack briskly said.

"All clear," the Marine commander replied. "No enemy contact--no life whatsoever--to be seen down here."

"There is, however, a chair," Teal'c told them.

"A chair?" Sam said.

"Indeed," the Jaffa replied with a nod. "Located at the center of the complex. It sits atop a raised platform."

"No other equipment?" Jennifer asked.

Teal'c shook his head. "None that we could see."

"All right, let's set up Little Nellie," Jack ordered. "Carter, instruct one of the Marines in its use. I want you and Hailey both working on whatever science problem we have to contend with here."

"Yes sir," Sam replied, as she pulled out what looked to Olivia like a small TV remote control. She held it up to the Marines and asked, "Who wants the job?"

"Give it here, Sam," Major Lyman said.

Olivia watched as two of the Marines opened up the crate and revealed what looked like a mechanical device of some sort. However, when Daniel saw it, his eyes grew wide behind his glasses. "Jack, you brought along a nuke?"

"Yeah," he said. "Just in case we got overrun, I figured we could blow it and take as many of them as we could in the process. But now, seeing how the situation's changed in our favor, we can use it to buy us a little time should Belial's boys try and ring down."

"Of course," Olivia said when she realized what his plan was. "Once they ring down, the bomb automatically gets sent up to their ship."

"We may be sending a bomb up to them, but we'll still be facing a bunch of those ugly sons of bitches on the ring platform," Drumlin said. "Marines! Form up firing positions on the alcove! I want anything that rings down in that position to die there, do I make myself clear?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" the Marines all shouted in unison, as they quickly got their weapons ready. Olivia was impressed to see that several of the weapons were big 60 millimeter cannons that had to be mounted on special stands.

"SG-1, with me!" Jack called, as he walked over to where Teal'c led him. "TJ, you're with us. Liv, stay with her."

"Got it," Olivia called.

After Sam explained the control to Major Lyman, she fell into step beside Olivia, Daniel and TJ.

"Hey, if the Disruptors are supposed to subdue the Anubis warriors, then why doesn't Drumlin have his men use them?" Olivia asked Sam.

"Well, the Disruptors basically wipe out the chip that controls the Anubis Soldiers, but it doesn't destroy the solider itself," Sam explained. "This way, Colonel Drumlin guarantees they'll be neutralized. Besides, we're not entirely sure what effect, if any, the EMP burst from the Disruptors will have on the equipment down here. So it'll be better for us to keep the Disruptors in reserve, until they're absolutely needed."

Olivia nodded. Then she glanced at what the rest of SG-1 were staring at just ahead of them. It was an ornately fashioned chair that was in the middle of a raised platform, much like how Teal'c described. Jennifer was already bent over the edge of the platform--as was Daniel and Grace. Olivia knew that they were trying to decipher different things: Daniel and Grace sought a language to read, while Jennifer sought a way to turn on the device.

"There's nothing here by way of any writing, or symbols," Daniel finally said with a shake of his head. "Grace, you find anything?"

"No, nothing here, either," she replied. Grace glanced around them, at the relatively barren area the chair was in. "There's nothing much to read around here."

"I found something," Jennifer said, as she brushed some ice away from a section of the edge of the platform.

Sam came over and peered at it. "Looks like the same type of power jacks that we've seen in the Mumani and Katula temples."

Jennifer pulled out one of the ZPMs from her pack. "You think this might work in there?"

Sam shrugged. "Only one way to find out, Lieutenant."

Jennifer took the ZPM and pressed it into the slot. Once it made contact, the ZPM glowed at full power.

Olivia looked around as she waited for something to happen. Yet, there was no 3D figure who emerged from nowhere, no rumble of machinery starting up--hell, there weren't even any blinking lights. Their surroundings remained an icy cavern…except for one thing.

Olivia glanced up at the ceiling and saw that it was lit. There was an eerie glow that filtered through the ice above them. "We have lights, at least," she said.

"What's wrong, Carter?" Jack impatiently asked. "Why isn't anything working?"

Both Sam and Jennifer looked to be completely lost. "There's a chair, sir," Sam said. "Maybe sitting in it will activate the weapons platform."

"SG-1, SG-3," Gail's voice cut in over their radios. She sounded like she was in a panic. "HA'TAK! I SAY AGAIN, YOU HAVE A HA'TAK SHIP COMING IN OVER YOUR POSITION!"

"Oboy," Daniel anxiously muttered. "Here we go…."

"LOOK ALIVE, MARINES!" Drumlin shouted at his men. "AND GET READY TO MEET OUR GUESTS!"

"There's no time to try and figure out how this properly works," Jack said, as he stripped himself of his backpack and weapons. "So I might as well just take a seat and--"

"Oh, whoa!" Olivia said in shock. Once Jack had taken a seat in the chair, the entire thing lit up brilliantly.

Jack glanced around warily at the now-glowing chair that he sat in. "Um, Carter, the chair's all lit up…."

Sam nodded. "So I've noticed, sir."

"Is it _supposed_ to be doing that, Carter?"

Sam just shook her head as she shrugged helplessly. "No idea, sir."

"Great," Jack muttered, "just great…."

**SG-1: SVU**

"What're you doing?" Gail asked.

"I am maneuvering the vessel for an attack run," Bra'tac calmly told her.

Gail stared wide eyed at the monstrous vessel that bored down on them. "We can't attack that thing! We're outmatched in every way!"

"Oh, we can attack a Ha'tak, my dear Sergeant," Bra'tac said grimly. "There is no guarantee that we will survive, but we can attack it. You should rejoice! For you were the one who craved battle with the Netian Empire, after all."

"Me and my big mouth," Gail muttered. Then her eyes grew even wider when the entire Ha'tak before them began to glow as brightly as the sun.

Even Bra'tac was taken aback by this. "What is wrong?"

"The seeker wave!" Gail said in a panic. "They're launching the seeker wave! Get us out of here, now!"

Bra'tac had already turned the ship in the opposite direction, but it was too late. Gail watched in horror as the brightly lit energy wave shot out from the ship in all directions. It was simply too fast, it would catch up with them no matter what they did.

"SG-1, they launched a seeker wave!" Gail called on her radio, just as their Alkesh was struck by the energy wave. Several consoles in the pilot's section exploded violently as a result.

"We are losing power!" Bra'tac reported. "I can not keep her steady!"

"We are going down," Gail called over the radio. She stared out the window as the icy ground rushed up at them. "I repeat, we are going--"

**SG-1: SVU**

"We are going down," the female Marine said over the radio. "I repeat, we are going--"

Mitchell shook his head sadly when there was nothing more to be heard but static. "Damn it…."

Like the other pilots aboard the Prometheus, he was on the flight deck, standing ready to lift off once General Hammond gave the word. He was gathered around a radio with the other pilots, listening to the battle that was already engaged over the artic. And Mitchell was sorely wishing that he was involved right now. But there was a problem, a really big problem.

"We've been trained to fight regular issue Ha'tak ships," Mitchell said, thinking aloud, "but we're now going up against the Netian Empire-designed Ha'tak ships."

"Yeah," Susan Donaldson, one of his fellow pilots, replied, "and we're already getting our ass kicked."

Mitchell shook his head. "That's because we never took into account the seeker wave, which all Netian Empire ships are equipped with. I can't believe the upper brass missed that one so badly!"

Suzie frowned. "But I thought the seeker wave was only used to seek out cloaked ships."

"Yeah," Mitchell said. "But it serves a two-fold purpose. It finds the cloaked ship, and then it disables it--as was just done to that Alkesh. Even if they can _see_ the enemy, the seeker wave is still the perfect offensive weapon."

"We need to come up with a way to deal with it," David said. "Or else we'll all find ourselves lying nose-down in the snow pretty soon."

That was when the idea, as crazily simple as it was, struck Mitchell. "Davey, Suzie, all of the 302s are equipped with hyperspace drives, right?"

"Yeah," David replied.

"Every last one of them?" Mitchell asked, as he stared hard at David. "It's important that we know for sure, Davey."

"I'll go check with the flight deck chief," David said as he ran off.

"Do that, Dave!" Mitchell called, as he strode out to the middle of the flight deck. "ATTENTION! May I have your attention, please! All pilots, gather around me for a preflight briefing."

"What are you doing?" Suzie asked him. "We just _had_ a preflight briefing with Colonel Newell."

"I know," Mitchell replied. "And we're throwing everything out and starting over fresh."

"What? Cam, are you nuts?" Suzie said, shocked. "You can't just throw out--"

Mitchell abruptly stuck his face right into hers and intently said, "Do you want to survive this upcoming battle?"

"Well, yeah…."

"Then you better pay close attention to everything I say, Suzie."

**SG-1: SVU**

When the ring transport platform began to glow, Bobby Lyman saw that as his cue. He held the remote control at Little Nellie, which stood on the platform, and switched her on. Her red lights flashed green just as she was surrounded by the transport rings, which dropped down around her.

"FIRE AT WILL," Drumlin commanded the Marines, who were all primed and ready behind their weapons--which were all pointed at the ring transporter. "DO NOT WAIT FOR ORDERS, JUST CUT DOWN THE BASTARDS THE MOMENT YOU SEE THEM!"

"Little Nellie is away!" Bobby called, just as he saw the bomb vanish in the flash of the transporter. "She's ready to blow her stack, sir!"

No sooner was Little Nellie gone than was she replaced within the glowing light by what looked like a full platoon of Anubis Troops. The jackal-faced monsters in the front all raised their claws up as they roared furiously at the Marines.

The Marines responded with a roar of their own. The three M60 machine guns opened fire just then, cutting down the Anubis troops before they could even take a step. As the M60 machine gun crews kept up a steady fire that chewed up the enemy, Bobby and several others fired grenade launchers and other heavy caliber weapons into the enemy ranks.

Then Bobby's eyes grew wide when he saw several of the Anubis soldiers in the back raise their hands. At first, he smiled, because he thought they were about to surrender.

But then he saw the hands start to glow with a cobalt blue burst of energy, and Bobby realized with horror what they were about to do.

"SHOOT THOSE HANDS IN THE BACK!" he ordered. "BLOW THEIR HANDS OFF BEFORE THEY CAN--"

But it was too late.

The Anubis soldiers in the back were largely firing blind. But the barrage of lightning bolts that they had set forth struck the middle machine gun crew, along with Colonel Drumlin, who all fell to the deck. Bobby helplessly watched as another part of the barrage actually bounced along the walls, headed back towards SG-1.

**SG-1: SVU**

"TAKE COVER!" Olivia screamed, as she tackled both Sam and TJ to the ground.

Just as she did this, an electric blue bolt of energy shot right over them--

--and right into Jack.

While everyone around him had heeded Olivia's warning and dived for cover, Jack was caught still sitting in the chair when the bolt hit him. The blast rolled him over and right out of the seat, and he landed on the floor with a sickening thud.

"No, no, no," a distraught Sam said, as she ran to Jack's side. "Please, no!"

TJ had to practically push Sam out of the way so she could treat Jack. Her eyes grew wide when she felt his neck. "I'm not getting a pulse! Help me expose his chest!"

Sam and Grace removed Jack's vest and then opened his BDU jacket while TJ quickly got a portable defibrillator unit ready from her back pack.

"What was he doing?" Jennifer urgently asked, as she got in the seat. "How did he turn this on?"

Olivia was stunned to see that the chair did not light up as it did when Jack sat in it. "I don't know! He just sat in it and it lit up!"

"Well, it's not working now," Jennifer said, as she got out of the seat.

When there was another flurry of machine gun fire, Olivia turned to see that the Marines appeared to be in for the fight of their lives as they continued to mow down the relentlessly advancing Anubis troops.

"I shall aid SG-3," Teal'c announced. He ran off with this staff weapon at the ready.

"Yeah, I'll go with you," Olivia said.

Yet before she could leave, Daniel shouted, "LIV, WAIT!"

"What?" she asked in a panic.

Daniel and Jennifer were both staring at her strangely. "You were touching the chair with your hand," he said.

"I was?" Olivia said, puzzled. "Didn't realize I was doing that. Sorry."

"Uh, no, that's not what I meant," Daniel said gently. "Touch the chair again."

When Olivia placed her hand flat down on the seat cushion, she was startled to see the chair light up as brightly as it did when Jack sat in it. She quickly pulled her hand away, feeling confused and a little scared. "What the hell?"

"Look," Daniel said, as he pressed his hands against the cushions, and nothing happened. "See? I'm just like Hailey. It doesn't work for me."

"However Colonel O'Neill managed to turn on the chair," Jennifer said, staring at Olivia, "you can do it too!"

"Clear!" TJ yelled, just before she shocked Jack with the paddles. When she was done, TJ glanced over at Grace. "We got a pulse?"

"No," Grace said sadly, as she read the deliberator monitor. Sam helplessly watched, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Clear again!" TJ called, as she prepared to shock Jack's heart a second time.

Olivia was distracted from this dramatic scene when Daniel leaned forward and said, "Liv, take a seat in the chair."

But Olivia was afraid of the chair, of the potential power that it wielded. She shook her head and moved towards Sam. "No, I have to be with Sam right now, she needs me."

Daniel shook his head. "You're the only one among us right now who can operate this thing, Olivia. We need you more. All of us."

When she realized what Daniel was asking her to do, when she realized what was at stake--the fate of the entire human race, and how it all now rested on her slender shoulders, there was only one thing that Olivia could say at this moment.

"Oh, crud…."

**To be continued....**


	18. Chapter 18

_I'd like to thank M.C. Herrera, James Axelrad and Mia Rose 156 for their very kind words of encouragement._

**Stargate: SVU 3**

**Chapter Eighteen**

"Magnificent," Belial said, as he sat back in his throne-like chair aboard the peltac and watched the destruction of the human race on the tactical screens in front of him. He paid special interest to the Ha'tak ship that hovered over the Antarctic continent. They had been sent to intercept a rouge Alkesh vessel which had arrived there and had begun boring through the ice.

Belial was happy to see the Alkesh had been swept away by the Ha'tak, which then proceeded to ring down a group of Anubis warriors to deal with the Tauri who had previously ringed down through the drill hole. Belial didn't know why the Tauri had went beneath the earth; perhaps they went to hide like the worthless worms they truly were.

'It is no matter,' Belial pleasantly thought, 'for the last hour of the human race now grows-'

Belial was shocked out of his musings when he witnessed something completely unexpected.

The Ha'tak that hovered over the artic had exploded into a vast fireball.

Belial sat there, blinking his bulbous eyes in puzzlement, as he watched the flaming debris from the shattered Ha'tak rain down on the icy landscape.

Stunned beyond belief, Belial stood up and shouted, "WHAT, IN THE NAME OF PLUTO, JUST HAPPENED?"

"The ship…blew up," Yoast feebly said from his console.

Belial seethed with rage at the stupidity of Yoast. If Belial did not need him so much to run the peltac for him, he would have killed the idiot right where he stood.

"I can see that," he replied, in a more calmer tone. Belial glared at the smoldering wreckage of the Ha'tak and realized that a dangerous new turn of events had just occurred here. The Tauri were fighting back, possibly with a super weapon that they had just retrieved here at their south pole. If they were to counter this, Belial realized that he and his Sons Of Darkness had to move quickly and with overwhelming force.

"Move the rest of the fleet into orbit above Earth," Belial ordered. "I want them to begin the systematic extermination of every man, woman and child on the surface of that planet."

Yoast nodded. "Yes, Lord Belial."

"And signal our escort Ha'tak ships to follow us," Belial added.

Yoast stared at him in confusion. "May I ask where we are headed, my Lord?"

"To Antarctica," Belial growled. "I wish to personally deal with the Tauri scum who would dare to destroy one of our ships!"

**SG-1: SVU**

"Clear!" TJ called for the third time. Despite her best efforts, her voice showed the desperation that she felt as she shocked Jack O'Neill's heart once more. The man was a living legend at the SGC, in addition to being a decent human being, and it appeared that his life was slipping through her fingers, no matter how hard she fought for it.

Just as TJ hit the shock switch once more, she frowned when she heard a deep, rumbling sound that reverberated throughout the icy chamber they were in. TJ quickly put aside any mental questions she had about that noise-which sounded like a really big explosion from somewhere-as she glanced expectedly at Grace Satterfield.

"Wait, you did it!" Grace called in triumph from the defibrillator monitor.

Major Carter burst into a broad smile of relief as Colonel O'Neill came to with an annoyed shake of his head. The Major was kneeling with the Colonel's head resting in her lap. "Jack?"

"Sam?" he asked, looking confused. "If we're relaxing on the beach, why's it so cold?"

TJ couldn't help but smile as she quickly checked his vitals, which were strong and steady. A part of her mind was envious of the loving relationship between them, which was obvious from the way Major Carter now held him and gently spoke to him.

"Keep him off of his feet," TJ told Major Carter, as she stood up. "I'm going to check on the Marines."

As TJ rushed over to the Marines' position, she was momentarily sidetracked by a frightened voice that cried out, "Daniel, I'm scared!"

TJ glanced over at a very distraught Olivia, who stood shaking her head by the chair while Daniel and Jennifer both spoke intently to her.

"But what if I mess up?" Olivia frantically asked. "If I screw it up, I might destroy everything!"

Daniel just pulled her into his arms in a loving manner as he said something reassuring into her ear-whatever it was, TJ was too far away to hear it. When she arrived at the Marines' position, TJ was surprised that she was blocked from the four men who lay on the ground by Major Lyman.

"Excuse me, sir," she said, trying to brush past him. "But I need to treat those men."

"They're beyond your help, Lieutenant," Lyman said hoarsely. He looked like he was just barely holding it together.

'Oh, my God,' TJ thought with a mixture of horror and deep sadness as she viewed the badly burnt bodies of the four Marines-one of whom was Colonel Drumlin. "I-I'm so sorry, Major…."

He just shook his head at her. "Wasn't your fault, TJ. How's O'Neill?"

"I revived him, and his vitals are steady, but he needs proper medical attention immediately," she replied. "The sooner the better."

"Is he still fit for duty?"

TJ glanced back at the Colonel, who had weakly reached up to caress the side of Major Carter's face. "No sir, he's received an electrical shock and is still in bad shape."

Lyman looked thoughtful. "Since SG-1 is the point team on this mission, that leaves Major Carter as the commanding officer. Let's formally transfer command over to her, now."

TJ nodded. "Yes sir. Uh, sir-another thing: I thought I heard a really big explosion before."

Lyman smiled faintly. "That was Little Nellie, letting out a really big burp once she was aboard the Ha'tak. With them gone, and the Anubis troops on the ring platform now nothing more than soup, we've bought ourselves some time, Lieutenant. But I wouldn't get too comfortable."

"Wasn't planning to, sir," TJ replied with a heavy sigh. She glanced at the ring platform, which was a tangle of severed body parts from the Anubis soldiers-all of which were still moving-and let out a shudder. "I will never get used to that!"

"If things go our way, then hopefully nobody will ever have to get used to seeing those ugly bastards," Major Lyman said bitterly.

They returned to O'Neill, who was propped up into a sitting position with his back pack acting as a pillow. O'Neill gestured weakly at Major Carter. "I've handed command of SG-1 over to Carter. Lyman, where's Colonel Drumlin?"

Lyman started to speak, but his voice caught and he quickly glanced down in obvious emotional pain.

"Colonel Drumlin is dead, sir," TJ spoke up for him. "As are three other Marines, all killed in the assault."

"Damn it," O'Neill muttered with a saddened expression. He glanced up at Major Carter. "If only I wasn't…."

"Sir, no!" TJ firmly said, when he tried to get up. "You must lie still and rest-_please_, Colonel!"

Everyone let out a gasp when O'Neill abruptly fell back against the pack with his eyes closed.

"Jack!" Major Carter anxiously cried.

TJ quickly checked him, and was satisfied that his vitals were stable. "He's all right," she assured Major Carter. "He's unconscious. But like I told Major Lyman, we really need to get him to proper medical care."

"I'm gonna do whatever I can to get him-as well as the rest of us-out of here," Major Carter solemnly said. She glanced over at Lyman with an exasperated look. "Guess I'm in charge, now, huh, Bobby?"

Lyman just smiled broadly at her. "What time is it, Sam?"

In spite of herself, and the situation, Major Carter smiled weakly. "It's time for the Major League."

Major Lyman nodded as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "That's right. Listen, no matter what goes down here today-no matter what happens-I got your back. Ok?"

"Thanks, Bobby," she said gratefully. "I appreciate it."

He nodded. "I should get back and help re-secure the ring platform. Little Nellie took out the Ha'tak, but there should be more of those ugly bastards ringing down soon."

"Do that, Bobby," Major Carter said. "Keep me posted on any new enemy activity on the platform."

"You got it, Sam."

Major Carter turned back to TJ, who was fussing over the unconscious O'Neill. When Carter gave O'Neill a concerned look, TJ said, "I'll stay with him, Major. He'll be fine."

"I realize he's in good hands, TJ," Major Carter replied. "Thanks. Now I've got to see if I can somehow get that chair to-"

When she abruptly stopped speaking, TJ looked over and was amazed at the sight before her. The chair that was in the center of the platform now glowed brilliantly. And Olivia Benson lay right in the chair. She appeared to be either deep asleep, or unconscious. An anxious Daniel held one of her hands. Save for Teal'c, who was with the Marines, all of SG-1 surrounded the chair with concerned looks on their faces.

"Holy Hannah!" Major Carter said, alarmed. "Daniel, is Liv all right?"

"Oh, God, I hope so," he called back plaintively.

**SG-1: SVU**

"Look at me!" Bra'tac commanded. "Sergeant, do not fall asleep!"

The young Tauri woman named Gail Emmaus stared up at him in a daze, her eyelids fluttering. "I can't…I just got to close my eyes for a little bit…."

Bra'tac just shook his head in disgust. Sergeant Emmaus lay against a wall in the pilot's compartment of the wrecked Alkesh. The entire room was set on a skewered angle, thanks to the position that the crashed ship had smashed itself into. Emmaus was actually laying on part of the wall, as well as the floor.

When they crashed, she had suffered a bad blow to the head, and Bra'tac suspected she had a concussion. "Sergeant, stay awake! Talk to me, tell me where you are from!"

"Aye, aye, sir," she said, shaking her head in a manner that suggested she was dizzy. "Woodchuck Creek."

Bra'tac just stared at her in puzzlement. "What is 'Woodchuck Creek?'"

"Where I'm from, sir," Emmaus replied. "Woodchuck Creek, Arkansas."

"Is it a nice place?"

"It sucks, sir. It's why I became a Marine; to get out of Woodchuck Creek."

Bra'tac nodded. "I see. That is as good a reason as any to become a soldier."

"Negative sir!" she said harshly. "The Sergeant wishes to correct her commanding officer. I am _not_ a soldier, sir, I am a Marine! Sir!"

Bra'tac smiled at her with approval. The flare up of anger that she just displayed was a good thing. It prevented her from falling asleep, which was the worst thing that you can do when suffering from a concussion.

When something caught his attention outside, Bra'tac got up and went over to the window. What he saw outside was most unsettling.

No less than three Ha'tak ships were now closing in over their position. Bra'tac solemnly nodded at this new development. While he had been very happy to see the previous Ha'tak get blown up-no doubt from the Nellie bomb that O'Neill had brought with them-Bra'tac knew it was just a matter of time before the fallen Ha'tak was replaced.

And that time had come. The battle was on once more.

Yet before he said anything to Emmaus, something else caught Bra'tac's attention. It was a group of small black specks that swooped down from the sky, straight out of the sun. As they came closer, he recognized them as a squadron of 302 fighters. They were making an attack run on the Ha'tak ships.

"Oh, you brave, glorious fools," Bra'tac said softly, as he watched the fighters lunge in hard for the Ha'tak ships. Already, the Ha'tak vessels began to glow as they prepared to launch their insidious Seeker Wave.

He turned to Emmaus and said, "Sergeant, is your radio still working? We need to warn an incoming flight of your 302 fighters about the Seeker Wave!"

"Aye, sir," Emmaus replied, as she keyed her radio.

"Wait!" Bra'tac said, as a steady flashing from outside distracted him. His eyes grew wide with wondrous disbelief at what he saw next.

"What is it?" Emmaus asked impatiently. "What's happening?"

Bra'tac smiled. "The tide of the battle appears to be finally turning in our favor, my dear Sergeant."

**SG-1: SVU**

"Talon 9, off the deck and feet up," Mitchell said, as his 302 fighter roared out of the Prometheus flight deck and into the clear artic skies. He hit a button that raised his landing gear.

Mitchell smiled broadly at the smoldering wreckage that littered the ice field below him. 'SG-1 sure gave them suckers a swift kick in the teeth!'

His smile faded when he saw three Ha'tak ships were now moving into position right over the hole that had been drilled by SG-1.

"Here we go," Mitchell said, more for himself than for anyone else. In these tense few seconds just before the assault-just before he would see if his plan would work-Mitchell said a quick prayer.

"You ready for this, Cam?" Davey's tense voice asked over the radio.

Mitchell grinned. "Hell, son, it'll be just like Beggar's Canyon back home!"

"What the _hell _are you talking-?"

Mitchell ignored his wingman as he took a deep breath and sent his 302 fighter careening into a dive straight down at the Ha'tak vessels. "Talon 9, on the approach!"

"Talon 10, on approach."

"Talon 8, on approach."

"Talon 7, on approach."

And so on, as each fighter in the entire squadron called in, all acknowledging their attack dive on the Ha'tak.

'Here comes the moment of truth for Mama Mitchell's little boy,' Mitchell grimly thought, as he continued to dive at the Ha'tak. 'Here's when Mama Mitchell's little boy finds out if he'll ever _see_ his dear old mama again….'

**SG-1: SVU**

"My Lord," Yoast called. "We are under attack from a squadron of Tauri fighters. They are of a vastly different configuration from the atmospheric fighters that our ships have engaged up to now."

"Yet they are just as vulnerable to the Seeker Wave," Belial said with a casual wave of his hand. "Launch it, and swat them out of my way."

Yoast bowed. "It shall be done, my Lord."

**SG-1: SVU**

When he saw the Ha'tak ships below him begin to glow, which was the tell-tale sign that they were about to launch the Seeker Wave, Mitchell keyed the radio and said, "Here we go, kiddies! Everybody get ready!"

Then there was a flash of light as the Seeker Wave flew out from all three Ha'tak ships in a massive 360 degree sphere of energy that expanded as it soared upwards.

Straight at them.

"Get ready," Mitchell called. "Ok, now-JUMP!"

He ignited the hyper drive on his 302, and everything all around his cockpit window disappeared in a brilliant glow. The icy blue artic skies was instantly replaced by the inky blackness of space.

Mitchell checked his flight computer, which informed him that he was now presently one hundred thousand miles above Antarctica.

He glanced around him and saw several other 302 fighters at his wing tips. "Everybody sound off!"

"Talon 1, here."

"Talon 2, here."

"Talon 3, here."

As each member of the squadron continued to sound off, Mitchell and the other pilots turned their fighters 180 degrees in the opposite direction, so that they now faced the planet.

Once everybody had sounded off that they were present, Mitchell called, "Make sure your coordinates are pre-set. We attack the moment we come out of hyper space. And…go!"

Mitchell charged forward towards the planet, and was pleased to see everybody else was with him. Mitchell reached out for the hyper drive switch and said, "And ready, set…JUMP!"

The hyper drive whined once again as he switched it on, and the blackness of space was replaced once more with the icy blue skies of the artic.

Mitchell smiled broadly when he saw their hyper drive jump had placed them well within the radius of the Seeker Wave. They were all back on an attack vector, headed straight for the Ha'tak ships.

They were so close that Mitchell had to veer off, or else he would hit the peltac of the Ha'tak vessel that was directly in front of him.

But not before leaving them with a little parting shot, first.

Mitchell went weapons hot, then unleashed two of his missiles, aiming them straight at the peltac. For some reason, the morons aboard the Ha'tak had the peltac windows wide open. Perhaps it was over-confidence, or just plain stupidity-but whatever the reason, it got them all killed, because the opened windows enabled the missiles that Mitchell fired to fly straight into the peltac.

Mitchell let out a wild whoop of joy as he flew by the peltac just as it erupted into a massive explosion.

"Somebody _please_ tell me that was Belial's ship!" Mitchell excitedly said over his radio. "Please tell me that my good buddy Belial personally swallowed those missiles!"

**SG-1: SVU**

"Son of a bitch, they did it," Hammond said with a smile. He watched with amazement from the Prometheus bridge as one of the Ha'tak ships, its control center blown clear off its top, now drunkenly drifted away from the other two vessels. It continued to spin off by itself until it slammed into a mountain range and exploded.

The destruction of the Ha'tak had caused the entire bridge crew aboard the Prometheus to erupt with wild cheering.

Hammond was further pleased to see the 302s had scored direct hits against the hulls of the remaining two Ha'tak vessels. Their Seeker Wave launchers should be taken out-and even if they weren't, it was still high time that the Prometheus got into this fight.

"All forward rail guns open fire on the remaining two ships!" Hammond commanded. "Fire at will! I want a constant, steady barrage, just keep pounding them!"

**SG-1: SVU**

Belial flinched when the peltac of the Ha'tak next to him exploded suddenly-just as one of the Tauri fighters soared directly by the windows of his own peltac.

"How did that fighter get past the Seeker Wave?" he demanded to know.

Yet he quickly forgot his own question as several more of the Tauri fighters screamed straight at his own ship. "Seal us up!" he ordered. "And launch the Seeker Wave!"

His Ha'tak shuddered violently as several missiles from the Tauri fighters landed on the hull. And Belial realized what they were doing. They were destroying the mechanisms for the Seeker Wave, which were located on the outer hull.

"The Seeker Wave is not working, my Lord Belial," Yoast reported.

"Never mind that, launch fighters!" Belial commanded.

"We cannot, my Lord," Yoast replied.

"Why not? Do we not _have_ fighters?"

"We have fighters," Yoast said. "But not fighter pilots. The Death Gliders are usually piloted by Jaffa-yet our entire invasion force consists of only Anubis warriors, none of whom are pilots."

And it was in that moment that the realization occurred to Lord Belial that he had been betrayed. Betrayed by the master tactical mind that belonged to Neith, who should have realized that Belial and his forces would have needed fighter back up, yet she did not give them any. Which could only mean that the bitch had wanted them to fail.

Enraged, Belial said, "Anti-aircraft batteries, we have them, yes?"

Yoast nodded. "We do, my Lord."

"Open fire! With everything we have! And move this ship directly over the drill hole. If they are fighting us this hard in this wasteland, then there must be something very valuable to them down there."

"Yes, my lord."

'Were it not for me, Neith would not even be alive now, and yet she dares to betray me?' Belial thought, infuriated. 'Once we slaughter every single one of the Tauri animals on this stinking planet, this task force should perhaps turn its attention to Mount Tanis!'

**SG-1: SVU**

Olivia glanced around her, and saw that she was in a park-not Central Park, but some other park, somewhere…she stood barefoot in a meadow on a pleasantly warm day, clad in capri-style jeans and a tank top.

"Liv!" a little boy called. "Did you find it?"

Olivia saw Dickie, Elliot's son, come running up to her. Barefoot, he wore a t-shirt and jeans. She stared at him in disbelief. She knew that Dickie was fifteen-yet here, now, he looked barely nine; just a little guy.

Dickie pointed at something on the ground. "There it is, Liv. See?"

Olivia glanced down at the Frisbee that lay in the grass by her bare foot. She picked it up and gave it to him. Dickie ran back over to where two of his sisters stood and resumed playing with them. Olivia glanced over at Elliot, who was busy setting up a picnic on a blanket with Maureen nearby.

"I was here before," she whispered. This was back when Elliot and Kathy were having marital trouble and had separated. Today was the first Saturday that Elliot got to visit with his kids, and he had been a bit overwhelmed by it all, so Olivia had volunteered to help him out with their picnic. "But this happened several years ago. Why am I here again?"

"You were afraid," a voice called from behind her. "And so I chose this place, this moment, from your memories in the hope that it would help soothe you."

Olivia spun around and found herself speaking to Merlin. The wizard strode up to her through a field of dandelions with his robes flowing behind him. He held a large wooden walking stick in one hand.

"So I'm not really here," Olivia said. She wiggled her toes in-between the grass. "But it feels so real."

"So do your dreams," Merlin replied. "And yet they take place entirely within your head."

"Listen, this is very nice, but I've got to tell you that my planet is under attack, and not by the Ori," Olivia urgently told him. "But by the Netian Empire."

"Although designed primarily against the Ori, the weapons platform can function against any outer-worldly enemy who threaten your planet," he said. "You need only to launch the drones."

"And how do I do that?"

Merlin plucked a dandelion from the ground and held it out to her. Olivia took it from him, puzzled.

"What do I do with this?" she asked.

"What do you normally do with a dandelion?" Merlin asked, smiling.

**SG-1: SVU**

"We are over the drilling hole," Yoast reported. "There is a large compartment buried deep beneath the ice. We are picking up life signs from down there-as well as an odd build up of energy."

"Send several brigades of our Anubis Warriors down there," Belial ordered. "If there is a super weapon there, I want us to have it."

"There is a large concentration of Tauri around the base of the drilling hole," Yoast said. "It appears they are ready and waiting for any troops to ring down in that area."

"Then don't have our troops ring down in that exact location," Belial said simply.

Yoast nodded in understanding. "Yes, my lord Belial."

**SG-1: SVU**

"Sam," Bobby called over the radio, "here we go again."

After hearing some pretty loud explosions from above, along with the frenzied chatter of fighter pilots over their radios, Sam had figured the cavalry had arrived. But when she glanced over at the alcove, and saw the sunlight that shone from above had been covered by a large shadow, she realized that they were in for another major fight. Yet before she could give any orders, the entire chamber began to rumble violently.

TJ leaned over the still-unconscious Jack, using her body to protect him from the falling bits of ice. TJ flinched in pain as a particularly large chunk of ice struck her on the shoulder.

Sam glanced up at the ceiling directly above the platform, saw that it was more stable, and then shouted to TJ: "Get the Colonel up on the platform!"

However, once Sam and Grace helped TJ to move Jack onto the platform, the rumbling only increased in intensity.

"You all right?" Sam asked TJ, who rubbed her shoulder.

TJ nodded. "I'm fine. What's happening, Major?"

"Don't know," Sam replied. "I just hope they're not trying to cause the place to cave in on us!"

But when Sam saw the large shafts of light burst through the ceiling and form in a circle all around the platform, she realized that a cave-in wasn't their intent at all.

It was much, much worse.

This new assault had decided to smartly bypass the killing box that the Marines had set up in the alcove by drilling several new ring transporter shafts in a circle all around them. Once Sam saw what was happening, she immediately keyed her radio and said, "Bobby, get your Marines over here! Form up in a circle on the platform, pronto!"

Teal'c, along with Bobby Lyman and his Marines, ran over to the platform just as the first wave of the Anubis soldiers had begun to ring down. Once the Marines arrived, they helped to form a protective ring around the glowing chair, which an unconscious Olivia still sat in. Daniel, ignoring the frenzy all around them, continued to hold her hand in his own.

"How is O'Neill?" Teal'c asked Sam. They both stood in front of the knocked-out Jack, blocking him from the Anubis Troops.

"Unconscious, but stable," Sam replied, as she raised her weapon at the legion of Anubis troops who roared at them. "But, given what's going on around us, I don't think that any of this will matter in the next few seconds, Teal'c."

"Indeed," Teal'c tersely replied. He slowly raised his staff weapon at the multitude of Anubis troops who faced them on all sides. "Major Carter, it has been an extreme pleasure serving with you."

"Same here, Teal'c," Sam replied, trying to keep her voice from showing the emotion that she felt. They were completely surrounded by a vastly superior force. It was hard to believe that they had all come so far, and had gone through so much, just for it all to end here, like this.

An image suddenly took form in front of them. It was a hologram of Lord Belial, who held out his arms in triumph. "SG-1! How good it is to see you here, and how good it will be to mount your heads on stakes in the Imperial Courtyard back on Mount Tanis-along with that of Neith, the great betrayer."

'Whoa!' Sam thought, as she shared at wide-eyed look of amazement with Grace. 'Wonder what went wrong to spoil _their _little love affair?'

"Yo, you want our heads?" one of the Marines defiantly spoke up. "Then come and get 'em, you bug-eyed son of a bitch!"

Sam was about to calmly speak to the hologram, in the hopes of trying to buy them some more time, when She heard Jennifer abruptly say, "What the _hell_ is she doing?"

Sam turned around and saw Olivia lay in the chair with her lips puckered together. Her eyes were still closed.

"Is she blowing kisses?" Jennifer asked incredulously.

"No, not kisses," Daniel replied, as he watched Olivia carefully. "She's blowing _on_ something…like blowing out candles on a cake."

"What-?" Sam started to say, until she was interrupted by a deep rumbling-this time, it came from beneath them. She glanced down at the floor that surrounded the platform that they all stood on, and was amazed to see that it was glowing as brightly as the chair that Olivia sat in.

"I shall see that you and Colonel O'Neill are captured alive, Samantha Carter," the Belial hologram gloated, "just so I can torture you and your lover, over and over again, until you both..."

Belial suddenly stopped speaking as he also noticed the glowing, trembling floor beneath him. "What is going on?" Belial asked, annoyed.

Sam wasn't sure if he was asking her, and she never got to find out-for right at that instant, large sections of the floor shattered as dozens of glowing objects flew up into the air. They swirled around the platform, mesmerizing both the SG teams, as well as the Anubis warriors.

"What are they?" Grace cried in a panic. "Should we shoot them?"

Sam reached out and grabbed Grace's arm. "No. I think this is what we came for!"

"The flying, glowing squid squad?" Grace anxiously cried.

When Sam got a good look at the glowing objects, she impulsively laughed when she saw that Grace's description was dead on: they each did appear to be a flying, glowing squid. "I think this is the weapons platform at work, Lieutenant."

Just then, the pack of glowing objects suddenly and viciously set themselves upon the Anubis soldiers, who all roared in a mixture of surprise and fury. Sam and the others watched, awed, as the Anubis soldiers were summarily eradicated by the glowing squid squad.

**SG-1: SVU**

"I feel very silly," Olivia said, after she was finished blowing the dandelion clean of its seed heads.

"You have just saved the lives of all of your friends in the chamber," Merlin assured her.

Olivia smiled at him. "Really?" She glanced down at the dandelions that surrounded them. "Should I blow on some more?"

Merlin nodded. "If you wish to rid your entire planet of the menace it faces."

"Better get more than one, then," Olivia muttered, as she gathered a handful of dandelions.

When Olivia held them up in her hand and blew, the multitude of seed heads scattered in the wind, looking for all the world like a blizzard.

**SG-1: SVU**

"THEY'RE GONE!" Grace shouted. "Major, the Anubis Troops are gone!"

Sam nodded, as she watched the glowing squids fly over empty ground where a legion of the dog-faced monsters once stood. She started to wonder just how they completely eliminated the troops, but then realized that it wasn't really proper to look a gift horse in the mouth. Sam realized that the Belial hologram was also gone.

'Lord Anubis and his Sons Of Darkness are probably very busy right now,' she thought with a smile.

When Bobby raised his gun at the squids, Sam shook her head. "No, everybody stand down!" she ordered. "The glowing flying squids are on our side!"

Bobby just gave her a strange, sideways glance. "You realize what you said just now?"

But Sam was already dismally nodding her head. "Yeah, I know how that sounded. But just stand down, all right?"

"She's doing it again!" Daniel called.

Sam turned in time to see a still-slumbering Olivia blowing out invisible candles. And right at that moment, another wave of the glowing squid squad emerged from the holes in the ground around them. The reinforcements swirled around the platform briefly, until they abruptly flew out the openings that had been drilled through the ice by the Ha'tak above them. They were all headed for the surface.

"Oboy…." Sam muttered. She almost felt sorry for the crew aboard the Ha'tak that hovered over them right now.

Almost.

**SG-1: SVU**

"Damn it!" Mitchell muttered, as his 302 just barely avoided being hit by a laser battery on one of the Ha'tak ships. The antiaircraft batteries were firing wild, now, and they had already shot down several of his comrades. Thankfully, he saw their parachutes open, so at least they bailed out. But the situation wasn't getting any better; their element of surprise was long gone and they were presently outgunned. The Ha'tak ships had sealed themselves up and dug in for a toe to toe battle with the Prometheus, which pounded them from above pretty good-at least until the Ha'taks got their shields up.

"All 302 flights," Hammond's voice came over the radio. "Return home immediately."

"Damn, damn, damn," Mitchell cursed. The Prometheus' own shields must be taking a pounding from the Ha'tak ships constantly lashing out at it. Hopefully, they were going to just go somewhere to regroup and attack again. Mitchell noted the two destroyed Ha'tak vessels-one of which was blown away by SG-1; the other was taken out by him with a very lucky shot-still smoldering in the snow. "So close, and yet so far…."

He started to veer off from the Ha'tak, until he saw something strange. It looked like a large mass of glowing objects rising up from the snow beneath one of the Ha'tak ships. "God damn, what are they, fireflies?"

"You see them too?" Suzie asked over the radio. "They're all over the place!"

"No," Dave cut in. "They're all over the Ha'tak ships!"

Mitchell saw that Davey was right, the glowing fireflies were now swarming all over the Ha'tak vessels. When one of them abruptly exploded, Mitchell veered off sharply, getting as far away from the remaining Ha'tak ship as he possibly could. He saw that the other 302 fighters had followed his lead.

"What's going on?" Suzie asked.

"Don't know," Mitchell replied, as he watched the remaining Ha'tak break apart in flames. "But whatever it is, I sure as hell like it!"

**SG-1: SVU**

Belial let out an angry roar as he tried to beat back the strange glowing tentacle creatures which suddenly, and without warning, all swarmed around his peltac. Explosions wracked the deck as his Sons Of Darkness were blown clear from their consoles. The ship shuddered violently, as if in its death throes.

"How dare you!" Belial shouted at one of the glowing, tentacle creatures, just before it flung itself right at him.

**SG-1: SVU**

"I'll be damned," Hammond said, smiling, he watched the final Ha'tak blow itself part. No longer having a target to shoot at, the rail guns on the Prometheus all automatically ceased fire.

"What are those things?" Newell asked, as they watched the glowing swarm shoot out of the ice and into the clear blue skies, where they took off for points unknown. "Where are they from?"

"Don't know what they are, Colonel," Hammond said softly. "But I'm willing to bet that we have SG-1 to thank for them."

**SG-1: SVU**

Elliot sat huddled with his family on a bunk in the basement of the One Six. They all sat listening timidly to the constant barrage of explosions and destruction that came from outside. And as it got louder, Elliot pulled his wife and children even closer towards him. Not for the first time today did he wonder if this was the end-and not for the first time did he curse himself for not doing enough to protect his family from the onslaught of death that came from above.

And then it all stopped.

Elliot glanced up when the dire sounds of destruction that came from outside had ceased, leaving only an ominous silence in its wake. He shared a cautious look with Kathy, one that dared to wonder if it was truly over, or if this was just the beginning of a second wave of terror?

When the silence lasted for longer than five minutes, Elliot got up from the bunk and pulled out his service Glock. Despite the protestations from his family, Elliot assured them that he was only going to take a look outside. He slowly and cautiously went upstairs, to the main floor of the precinct, which was empty and abandoned.

He heard a noise from behind him, and saw Dani standing there, holding her gun at the ready.

"What are you doing?" he asked her.

"Providing backup for my partner," she replied. "What else would you expect me to do?"

Elliot, shaking his head, just motioned for her to come with him. They slowly made their way down the main lobby of the precinct house, towards the main doors, when they heard a sound behind them. When Elliot turned to see what the sound was, he had a horror movie image in his mind of a Jaffa warrior standing there, with its staff weapon pointed right at them.

Instead, he saw Munch and Fin.

"Hey, you didn't think we're gonna let you have all the fun, huh?" Fin said.

"The barrage stopped," Munch said anxiously. "Are they landing troops?"

"That's what we're gonna go see," Elliot whispered back.

The foursome slowly crept up to the main doors. Elliot peered out and saw the flaming wreckage on the streets, but not much else. He decided to risk a look outside.

Opening the door, he peered up at the alien ship-

-and saw with shock that it was not there.

The pyramid-shaped ship had ascended further into the skies, becoming smaller the further it got. And Elliot saw something else.

It was under attack.

There was a large swarm of glowing objects that flew all around, and even through the ship. Whenever one of the glowing objects struck the side of the ship, it caused the hull to explode outwards.

Elliot watched in awe-with Dani, Munch and Fin all standing beside him-as the glowing objects caused the massive ship to finally explode in a huge fireball several miles above them.

"What just happened?" Dani asked.

"I think it's over," Elliot said.

"Did we win?" Fin wanted to know.

Elliot gazed out at the extensive battle damage that the city had suffered. Buildings were on fire, as the smoke from the damage created a dense fog of soot and ash over everything. Once again, New York City had suffered a really rough day. And once again, it was still standing.

"Yeah," Elliot said quietly, "I think we did."

"What makes you so sure?" Munch asked.

Elliot stared at him. "We're still standing, ain't we?"

**SG-1: SVU**

"You are done, Olivia," Merlin said. "The threat to your planet has been eliminated all across the globe."

Although she was flooded with an ecstatic sense of relief, Olivia was still filled with questions. "Why was I the only one able to use the chair-other than Jack?"

"You possess the ancient gene," Merlin answered. "As does your friend. Only those who possess the gene can use the technology left behind by my people." He gestured at the spawling field of dandelions before them, and added, "Use it wisely-and sparingly. For you will need it against the might of the Ori."

As Olivia started to feel everything around her become hazy and distorted, she realized that she was about to be pulled out of this little fantasy. "Wait, who are the Ori? Why should we fear them so?"

"If you have not yet known the terror of the Ori, then you should consider yourself most fortunate," Merlin said, as he began to fade away. "But you and your world should brace yourselves for their arrival. You must seek out the knowledge of the Ori in the Temple Of The Dove."

"Temple Of The Dove," Olivia muttered, once she woke up. She found herself staring right into Daniel's worried face.

"What?" he asked.

"Write that down," she said urgently. "It's where we can find information about the Ori."

"Temple Of The Dove" Grace muttered, as she started writing in her notebook. "Where is it?"

Olivia let out an annoyed sigh. "Damn it! He didn't say!"

Daniel stared at her with a smile. "Who?"

"Merlin! You know, I'm really getting so tired of these guys and their frigging cryptic bulls-" Olivia paused when she sat up and glanced around.

Sam was busy speaking on her radio as she knelt over Jack, who sat on the floor by the chair, propped up against his backpack. Jack just gazed up at Olivia with a content look on his face.

"Jack, you all right?" Olivia asked.

"No," he said calmly. "But I will be soon. The Prometheus is here, and they're sending a Teltac down to pick us up."

Olivia stared at how everyone stood around so casually. She was also taken aback at how there were now more holes in the ceiling than there were before. "Hey, um, where're the dog-faced guys?"

"The glowing, flying squids ate them," Jennifer replied, with a broad grin.

"The glowing, flying squids," Olivia repeated. "Ok, um, is that what happened when I was blowing on the dandelions?"

"You thought you were blowing on dandelions?" Jennifer said in shock. "Really?"

"Yeah, I asked Merlin how to turn on the weapons thingy, " Olivia said. "And he had me blow on some dandelions…."

"Which then triggered the weapons platform," Teal'c said with a nod of understanding.

"Merlin, that sly old fox," Jack muttered with a smile.

"Rodger that, General," Sam said into her radio. She turned to them all and added, "It's not just us. The glowing flying squid squad got rid of the entire invasion fleet, all over the world."

"Oh, hell yeah!" Bobby Lyman shouted, as everyone erupted into cheers and applause. Olivia was surprised to see Jennifer give Teal'c a warm hug.

Daniel leaned over and said, "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Olivia replied. "How are you?"

"Great, just great," Daniel said with a nod. "Listen Liv, where were you, when you were blowing on dandelions?"

"Um, in a park in Queens," she sheepishly replied.

Daniel chuckled gently. "And so you saved the world by blowing on dandelions in a park in Queens, New York, huh?"

"Saved the world? Oh, uh, no, I didn't…." Olivia stammered, as she felt her face turn red with embarassment. "I mean, it wasn't _all_ me…was it?"

Daniel just gazed at her tenderly. "You know, I don't think I could ever be in as much love with you as I am now, Ms. Benson. You feel like moving in together?"

"Why, I'd love to, Dr. Jackson," she whispered, as they kissed each other passionately.

"Oh, for crying out loud," Jack muttered with mock-disgust. "Would you two please get a room…."

**To Be Concluded In The Next And Final Chapter.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Stargate: SVU 3**

**Chapter Ninteen**

Char'el walked briskly through the corridors of the Hak'tyl. He watched as the people and Jaffa were all battening down various objects and closing doors in preparation for jumping to hyperspace. There was one thing in particular that Char'el wanted to check-actually, it was a person whom he had wanted to check in on.

He entered the private quarters that he shared with Casey and saw her standing by the window, staring intensely out at what she often referred to as the "Big Blue Marble."

When Casey glanced at him, Char'el could see that she was still deeply troubled at the decision Io'tan had made, which barred the Jaffa of the Hak'tyl from joining the battle for Earth. Io'tan felt that the Jaffa aboard the ship were far too precious in number, and therefore far more needed by the people of the Hak'tyl.

As he strode up to her, Casey asked, "Are we leaving, now?"

"Yes," Char'el replied. After a hesitation, he added, "I am sorry, Casey."

She smiled, for the first time in over a day. "You're sorry we're leaving?"

"I am more sorry that I, and the other Jaffa, did not join the battle," he told her.

She reached out and took his hand. "It wasn't your fault, Char'el. Hell, you were the one who volunteered to risk your life! It was all thanks to Io'tan, that…." Casey just shook her head. "Never mind."

When she glanced back out at Earth, Char'el saw a wistful longing on her face. "It doesn't matter now," she said. "They won. It was done so at a terrible cost, and there will be some major changes made. For one thing, the stargate program is now no longer a secret. But my home world survived the onslaught, and that's all that really matters."

Char'el was almost afraid to ask the question, because he was not sure he wanted to know the answer. Yet he steadied himself and said, "Do you ever wish you were back on Earth?"

"I'd be lying if I said no," she replied. Casey took his hand once more and added, "But I realized a long time ago that my home is here, with you. And while I may not agree with every decision that Io'tan makes, she's still our leader, and I accept and support her as such. Besides, the Netian Empire is still out there, and it's still a threat. I _still_ feel that I'll be able to best serve Earth right here, on the Hak'tyl. Provided I try and avoid getting captured _again_ next time…."

Char'el smiled at her little joke. He was pleased to see that, if nothing else, her sense of humor had returned. That made him decide to risk asking something. "Casey, Io'tan would very much like your presence on the peltac. She feels bad about this rift, and misses you. Would you like to come up with me and see her?"

Casey nodded solemnly. "Yes, of course."

"Excellent," Char'el said with a broad smile.

"I'd like to ask a favor of you," Casey said.

"Anything," Char'el replied.

"I'd like for you to teach me hand to hand combat," Casey said. "Just in case I might need it."

"Very well," Char'el replied. "Are you expecting Io'tan to send you out on another mission?"

"It's for myself," Casey coolly answered. "Seeing how it looks as if we can't really depend on any support around here, I figured I might as well take the initiative by watching my own back."

As they walked to the peltac, the smile that Char'el had quickly faded as he pondered the deeper meaning of what Casey said. And what consequences it would bring.

**SG-1: SVU**

The official funerals would come later, with the families of the dead in attendance, but right now, the gate room had been turned over to a private memorial service just for the SGC personnel. The memorial service went by smoothly, as Hammond eulogized the deceased from the past mission, as well as Lt. Kelso. Sgt. Gail Emmaus tried bravely not to cry, but when Hammond began to speak of the unselfish deeds of Colonel Drumlin, she began to bawl like a baby. Hammond was glad to see Rodney McKay was by her side, comforting her. Olivia Benson was also crying, with an emotional Daniel Jackson holding her.

The mere mention of Gary Kelso's name started more tears flowing within the crowd. Lt. Kelso was a popular person among the SGC, and, judging from the raw emotion on display when Hammond spoke of him, he would be sorely missed.

When the ceremony was over, everyone broke up to go their separate ways. Hammond noted that Mr. Woolsey from the IOA was here, and he was speaking very intently in the hallway to Dr. Weir. Walking past them, Hammond went up to his office and wearily sat down behind the desk. When there was a knock at the door, he called, "Come in."

Elizabeth shyly entered. "I'm not interrupting, am I?"

"Never," he said, as he waved her in. "Have a seat."

"That was a wonderful service," Elizabeth told him. "You did a great job, George."

"It's the one duty that I wish I never had to do," he said softly. "The Marines of SG-3 really took it on the chin this time. And losing Gene Drumlin like that was also a huge loss for them. Hell, it's a huge loss for us all."

"Yes, it is. Any idea who will be taking over SG-3?"

Hammond nodded. "Major Lyman, who will receive a promotion to Lt. Colonel. I've already informed him."

"Great choice," Elizabeth said. She appeared uneasy. "Speaking of promotions, and moving on, I've been asked by the IOA if I would assume command of the expedition that's presently examining the Antarctic weapons platform. It appears that, since it's located in Antarctica, several nations have come forward, wanting to know whose jurisdiction it falls under. I'm told by Mr. Woolsey that both the United States and Russia would be very happy if the IOA assumed official guardianship-as long as I'm in charge on the ground."

Hammond noted there was one country that was not even mentioned in these deliberations: China. And with good reason. The Chinese had fought back against the Ha'tak that hovered over Beijing so vigorously that Lord Belial had commanded the entire city to be flattened, just to make an example of them. To make matters worse, the Sons Of Darkness then proceeded to destroy the Three Gorges Dams, which set loose a flood of biblical proportions upon the Chinese countryside. When those sons of bitches were finished with them, China, which was once a rising superpower, had been reduced to a third world country in a matter of hours. The reports coming in were dire, with the rescue efforts being overwhelmed. They were expecting to see casualties in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions.

"Have you decided to take the position?" Hammond asked.

"I'm thinking very seriously about it," Elizabeth said. "You think I should?"

Hammond decided then that it was time to tell her. "I should tell you, Elizabeth, that I have also been promoted. I've been kicked upstairs by the President."

Her eyes flared with shock. "Really? That's great, George!"

"I seems the President feels that, now the Stargate program is no longer a secret, I need to continue to fight for the program-only now in a much higher capacity, in the political area of Washington."

"I can't think of anyone better to do so," Elizabeth said. "Who will be replacing you?"

"Jack O'Neill, who will be promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. I've already spoken with him about it."

Elizabeth grew very thoughtful at that. "Perhaps I'll take the Antarctic job after all…."

Hammond burst into mild laughter at that. "You never really liked Jack very much, do you, Elizabeth?"

"Oh no! That's not it at all," she said quickly. "I was thinking more in terms of the fact that, since you're leaving, perhaps I should leave as well and leave a clean slate for Colonel…excuse me, General O'Neill, to start with. Besides, overseeing the weapons platform expedition sounds like an exciting, once in a lifetime opportunity."

The stargate alert sounded throughout the base just then, with Walter's voice coming over the PA: "Incoming traveler! General Hammond, Dr. Weir, please come to the control room."

"What do we have, Walter?" Hammond asked, once he and Elizabeth entered the control room.

"It's Jacob Carter, sir," the sergeant replied. "His IDC checks out."

"Open the iris, then."

Hammond and Elizabeth went into the gate room and greeted Jacob as he came through the event horizon. "George, I'm so sorry we couldn't be of more help," Jacob said.

"Don't ever worry about that, old friend," Hammond replied, as they shook hands.

"How bad was it?" Jacob asked. "The attack on Earth?"

"Very bad," Elizabeth answered. "The Sons Of Darkness managed to do a lot of damage to us-many millions of people the world over have lost their lives. China has very nearly been wiped out."

"Damn it." Jacob shook his head sadly. "Well, since I was of no help to you during the battle, I can at least offer you some help now. I got some news that you'll really want to hear. The Tok'ra spies within the Netian Empire have been busy, and you guys won't believe what's been happening on Mount Tanis!"

**SG-1: SVU**

Her Lord Empress Neith, clad in gleaming battle armor, walked up to the legion of her finest Jaffa warriors and shouted, "ARE YOU READY, MY DARLINGS?"

The Jaffa responded in the positive with a massive war cry that was shouted in unison.

Neith then held her staff weapon up above her head and said, "Then let the hunt begin!"

**SG-1: SVU**

Ba'al watched, amazed, as Neith let her troops into battle against the last pocket of the Anubis Warriors that were left on Mount Tanis. No sooner did they receive word of Lord Belial's defeat and death at the hands of the Tauri than did Neith led the charge against the last vestige of Belial's control.

Ba'al remained behind in the command center, watching the battle unfold on the surveillance screens, and offering updated combat information to Neith, who quickly took advantage of every new opportunity to wipe out the Anubis troops in each engagement.

Neith and her troops were mounted on raptors, which were most effective into routing the surviving group of Anubis warriors down a specific hallway, and straight into an infantry trap. Once the floor gave way beneath the Anubis warriors, they found themselves trapped in a pit that was filled with yet more hungry raptors, the same ones who formally lived in the now-razed raptor maze.

As she watched the last remaining Anubis warriors be torn to shreds by the raptors in the pit, Neith raised her staff weapon high over her head once more. "Today we have reclaimed the Netian Empire for its citizens," she said. "And tomorrow, we shall conquer the rest of the universe!"

Ba'al, who was recently promoted to Lord Battlemaster by Neith, was so moved by this woman. He was so proud to be in her service, under the flag of the mighty Netian Empire, that he raised his fist in the air and shouted, "LONG LIVE HER LORD EMPRESS NEITH!"

As the Jaffa who staffed the command center quickly flew into cheers, Ba'al thought, 'And I look forward to conquering the rest of the universe as Neith's Battlemaster. And, who knows, if I play it right, I may help conquer the universe as her lover….'

**SG-1: SVU**

"Elliot," Cragen said, "you're not gonna believe this!"

Elliot frowned as he placed his policeman's hat on his desk. Since returning back to work, Elliot and the other detectives of the SVU wore their police duty uniforms. It was meant to be both a show of solidarity within the NYPD, as well as to show the public that the police were out in full force, to help them and their communities to get back on their feet.

Elliot had spent the better part of the morning directing traffic on a busy intersection which lost its traffic lights, thanks to the power outage.

But the power came back on, and the revived traffic lights had instantly put Elliot out of a job. When he called in, Cragen told Elliot to report back to the station. Now, he had walked in to see everybody had crowed around the TV set in the bull pen.

"Hey, what's up?" Elliot said, as he walked over to the group. "Don't tell me Belial and his boys are back…."

Dani, who looked fetching in her uniform, turned to him with an exasperated look and said, "You didn't tell me your old partner was Wonder Woman!"

"What?" Elliot said. Then his eyes grew wide when he saw the TV.

Olivia was standing with the rest of SG-1, along with the President, in the White House Rose Garden. The President gave a speech about the heroic sacrifices that SG-1 and SG-3 had made during the Battle for the Antarctic. Elliot did a double take when he saw that Olivia, along with the rest of the SG members, all wore medals.

"She and the others were awarded medals for their bravery in the Battle for the Antarctic," Munch said. "The military members received the Medal of Honor, while Liv and the other civilians on the team got the Congressional Gold Medal."

"Hey, what's on TV?" a familiar voice called out. "Anything good?"

Elliot and the rest of the bull pen were all pleasantly surprised to see Olivia herself standing there, along with Daniel Jackson. Elliot glanced back at the TV and realized that they had been watching an event that was recorded much earlier today.

After several minutes of hugs and greetings, Elliot introduced Dani to Olivia as his new partner, which came as a shock to Olivia. But then Olivia had a shocker of her own to reveal.

She affectionately held Daniel and said, "You guys know Daniel? Well, he's now officially my boyfriend."

Daniel just nodded with a broad smile. "And Liv's my gal."

After the congratulations, what followed was a half an hour of laughs and story swapping-with everyone in the bullpen listening with rapt attention while Liv and Daniel spoke at length about their experiences in the Artic. Elliot really enjoyed listening to how Belial finally got bitch-slapped for good by those weird glowing squid things.

Later, while she got a bottle of water at the dispenser, Elliot privately caught up with Olivia. "Liv, about you and Daniel, you said it was official?"

"Well, we're moving in together off base," she replied with a smile. "We still have our quarters in the SGC, but they're separate." Olivia then glanced at Dani and then asked, "Did poor Kathy blow her stack the moment she heard about your new partner?"

"Oh yeah, and Kathy met Dani on the very day of the invasion!" Elliot said.

"Jeez, talk about some major fireworks," Olivia said with a laugh. "You poor man!"

"Nah, it's all good. Dani's been great, and Kathy's even warmed up to her somewhat," Elliot said. He stared at her thoughtfully for a moment, as a smile grew on his face.

"What?" Olivia asked.

"I just can't believe that you saved the world by blowing on dandelions!" Elliot said with a shake of his head.

"I've done and seen some even crazier stuff, Elliot, believe me!"

"Hey, are the rumors true about that place down in Antarctica being the lost city of Atlantis?" Elliot asked.

"Daniel doesn't think so, and I agree with him," she said. "I mean, this place is pretty sparse; it looks like it's just what it is: strictly a weapons outpost that's used for defense."

Elliot nodded. Then he leaned forward and whispered, "Are you wearing it?"

She gave him a perplexed look. "Wearing what?"

"The medal you got from the President," Elliot said. "You got it on you?"

Olivia had a bashful look on her face as she reached down and pulled the medal out from behind her sweater.

Elliot momentarily held the medal in his hand. "Oooo, pretty. And you sure as hell deserve it, Liv."

Olivia had now gone into full blush mode, as her cheeks turned a vibrant red from embarassment. "Yeah, well, it was nothing. I mean, I spent the battle just laying around, dreaming…."

Elliot grinned at her. "I can't believe you! You literally save the world, Liv, and here you are, still unable to take a compliment."

When she just shyly glanced at her shoes, Elliot pulled Olivia into a tight hug. "You done good, kid," he whispered into her ear, "you've done real good."

Upon hearing that, Olivia's response was to hug him even harder.

**SG-1: SVU**

_One day later._

'This is wrong,' O'Neill thought, as he strode into the gate room. Dressed in his formal Air Force uniform, he was about to be officially promoted to Brigadier General by Hammond. At first he was reluctant to accept command of the SGC, feeling that he would be of far better service while in the field. Yet O'Neill had a change of heart once he heard that both Hammond and Weir were leaving, and the thought of the SGC falling under the command of people who were flaming idiots scared him far more than taking command of the place himself. O'Neill thought he was a flaming idiot, as well, especially when it came to doing paperwork. But at least once he took command of the SGC, O'Neill knew that he would always be fighting very hard for its best interest.

However, that was not why he was in such a foul mood right now. No, what put O'Neill into his present gloomy state of mind was a man named Cameron Mitchell. With a name like that, he sounded like he should be a superhero on one of those Saturday morning cartoon shows. But apparently Mitchell was a hero in real life.

A 302 fighter pilot who fought in the Battle for the Antartic, Mitchell changed the tactical game plan right at the last minute when he discovered the Ha'tak ships were armed with the seeker wave. It was Hammond who gave him the official go-ahead, and Mitchell not only saved the entire fighter squadron from the seeker wave, but he even managed to take out one of the Ha'tak ships with a lucky shot into the peltac, thus making him the only fighter pilot to do so.

The upper brass rewarded Mitchell by promoting him to the rank of Lt. Colonel, and giving him his choice of any assignment in the Air Force. Mitchell chose to join SG-1. And the upper brass gave it to him.

As O'Neill was officially promoted in a ceremony in the gate room that was officiated by Hammond and Weir, his mind was still bothered with Cameron Mitchell. It wasn't that the guy didn't deserve the promotion, he did. In fact, O'Neill thought Mitchell did an outstanding job, which went far in protecting all of them long enough so they could get the weapons platform working.

But, since he would be joining SG-1 with the rank of Lt. Colonel, that would instantly make Mitchell the ranking officer. And while Mitchell may have been a hotshot fighter pilot, he didn't have very much experience on the ground as part of an SG team.

And, O'Neill strongly felt that if anybody should take over command of SG-1 from him, it should be Sam.

Once the ceremony was over, and he was a Brigadier General, both Hammond and Weir congratulated him. "I can't think of a better person to take over the running of this place," Weir said.

"Agreed," Hammond said. "The SGC is in very good hands."

"Thank you sir; thank you Dr. Weir." O'Neill then stepped up to the podium and faced the large crowd that had gathered before him. SG-1 were up front and center, and O'Neill was pleased to see that Olivia and Daniel had managed to get back in time from their little side trip to New York City.

O'Neill was about to make a joke-filled speech about how he would run things here at the SGC, but once he saw the Marines of SG-3, he changed his mind.

Lt. Colonel Bobby Lyman stood staring expectantly at him. He had been recently promoted to his present rank by the Commandant Of The Marine Corps, who had paid a visit to the SGC. The Commandant had also promoted several other members of SG-3, including Gail Emmaus, who rose in rank from a Sergeant to that of Second Lieutenant.

And when his gaze fell on the smiling, beaming face of Sam Carter, his lover and best friend, O'Neill mentally tossed his little speech into the garbage. He had something much better to do right now.

"It is my extreme pleasure to accept command of the finest group of people whom I've had the honor of serving with," O'Neill solemnly said. "And, my first act as your commanding officer will be to promote Major Samantha Carter to the rank of Lt. Colonel."

There was a large, hearty round of applause as Sam stood staring in wide-eyed shock at him, much like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights. Olivia reached over and gave a still-stunned Sam a celebratory hug. Daniel gave her the thumbs up while Teal'c nodded his head in approval.

O'Neill swore in Sam, and once the oath-taking was over, she was officially a Lt. Colonel...one with far more experience in the Stargate field than Mitchell had. She truly deserved to take command of SG-1.

O'Neill turned back to the podium, about to give the funny speech that he had made up, until he saw Hailey and Satterfield standing with the rest of SG-1.

'Oh, what the hell,' O'Neill thought.

He called them to the podium and promoted Second Lieutenant Satterfield to First Lieutenant, and then promoted First Lieutenant Hailey to Captain.

Then, after a quick scan of the audience, O'Neill asked, "Hey, anybody see TJ?"

In response, a shocked voice in the middle of the crowd loudly said, "Oh, my God!"

The laughing crowd of people parted to reveal a stunned TJ, who stood with her mouth hanging open.

O'Neill waved her on up. "Come on…you too."

And so, O'Neill promoted Second Lieutenant Tamara Johansen to First Lieutenant. She looked so taken aback that, after her promotion was done, Satterfield leaned over and said, "Breathe, TJ. Just breathe…."

Once the ceremony, and the speeches, were over, O'Neill whispered into Sam's ear: "Party at my place later, pass the word…_Colonel_ Carter."

She smiled at him. "Yes, _General_ O'Neill, sir. Um, I assume we leave ranks at the door?"

"Always, Carter, always!"

Bobby Lyman came up to Sam just then and shook her hand in congratulations. "Looks like this is the end of the Major League for us, huh, Sam?"

Sam just grinned at him. "Guess so. The 'Lt. Colonel League' just doesn't have the same ring to it."

The rest of the day went by very slowly for O'Neill, as Hammond showed him the ropes of running the SGC. It was a few hours later, when O'Neill was busy puzzling over how to arrange the desktop in his new office, that Walter came in and gave him a snazzy salute.

"General O'Neill, sir!" he barked in a grandiose tone of voice.

O'Neill just shook his head at him in warning. "Walter…."

"Sergeant Walter Harriman reporting that you have a visitor, sir!"

"Ok, Walter, my first order to you as the SGC Grand Poobah is this: don't _ever _do that again, all right? Speak normally."

"Yes sir," he replied in a more normal voice. "Sorry sir. Would you like to receive your visitor, General O'Neill?"

"That depends: it's not one of those IOA weenies, is it?"

Walter chuckled slightly at that. "Uh, no sir. It's Lt. Colonel Mitchell."

"Yeah, send him in."

Walter opened the door and gestured for Mitchell to enter. When he did, Mitchell snapped off a salute, which O'Neill returned. "Lt. Colonel Cameron Mitchell reporting for duty, sir."

"At ease, Colonel," O'Neill said. "Take a seat. And may I just say that you've done a superb job in the skies above the Artic."

"Thank you kindly, sir," Mitchell said humbly. "I try my best."

"And your best is what got you here," O'Neill said. "I understand that you asked to be assigned to SG-1?"

"Yes sir, it's been something of a dream of mine."

"If you joined SG-1, you would be serving under Lt. Colonel Carter."

Mitchell sincerely smiled. "She got promoted, sir? That's damn good news, she deserves it. I'd consider myself very fortunate to be serving under Colonel Carter, sir."

"But you understand that, with your rank, you could take command of any one of the other SG teams-except for SG-3."

"Sir, permission to speak freely?"

"Always, Colonel."

Mitchell leaned forward in his seat. "I've always wanted to make a difference with my life, and right now, there's no better place to do that than SG-1. I would be honored to serve on that team in any capacity that you would see fit."

O'Neill had to admit, he was mightily impressed with Mitchell. The guy seemed genuinely decent, and SG-1 would benefit from his quick thinking and tactical expertise. He extended a hand. "Very well, Colonel. Welcome to SG-1. You start first thing on Monday."

Mitchell got up and shook it. "Thank you very much, sir."

"Oh, and Colonel? I'm having a party at my place later tonight. It's informal, leave your rank at the door. It'll be a great way for you to meet your teammates."

Mitchell grinned broadly. "Much obliged, General! See you there, sir."

As Mitchell left, O'Neill stared after him, realizing that Mitchell never got the address from him. "Oh, well," O'Neill muttered, as he resumed his desktop decorating, "he's the tactical genuis...he'll figure it out."

**SG-1: SVU**

Sam received her new Colonel rank insignia later that afternoon and was almost tempted to wear it with her uniform to the party, but Jack said it was an informal affair, and so she went clad in sandals and a light, summery dress with a denim jacket. It wasn't long after she had arrived that Sam had removed the jacket, and then it wasn't long after that that she had ditched her sandals. When she went to put her sandals away for the night, Sam was amused to see a long line of discarded shoes and other sandals that had been placed against the hallway wall by some of the other guests at the party. Apparently, when Jack said his party was informal, people took him at his word.

Sam found Jack puttering around in his kitchen, and when he saw her newly casual look, he asked, "You spending the night?"

"I just assumed I was," she said. "That all right?"

"It's always all right," he replied amiably. "You don't even have to ask."

The strains of REM's "It's The End Of The World As We Know It" came wafting into the kitchen, which made Sam give Jack a double take.

"That's not mine," he insisted. "Olivia took over the official DJ duty tonight, and she's playing all kinds of weird stuff. Beer?"

"Please," she said, accepting a bottle from him.

"What do you think of Mitchell?" Jack asked, as he got a beer for himself.

"I like him." Sam glanced over at Mitchell as she took a sip of her beer. Teal'c was in what looked like a very intense conversation with SG-1's latest member. "But if SG-1 keeps getting any bigger, then I'm gonna have a full platoon on my hands."

"You could request certain members of your team to be removed, or you can even add more people, if you want," Jack told her. "SG-1 is now yours to run as you see fit, Sam."

"I know," Sam said with a happy grin. "But I'm just kidding; I'm very satisfied with the team as is."

Then Sam stopped and listened to the next song, which was Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World." When she told Jack what song it was, they both burst into laughter.

"Hey Liv," Sam called across the room, "you doing an end-of-the-world theme here?"

Olivia had stopped speaking with Daniel, Rodney and Gail to give Sam a shrug. "These were the only two I could find that fit what we just went through."

"You mean, what we _almost_ went through," Daniel said. "It wasn't quite the end of the world…."

"But it sure as hell felt like it," Olivia said, as she gave him an affectionate kiss on the forehead.

Janet entered the kitchen with two empty glasses and a sheepish expression on her face. "Um, I could use a refill for two fruit drinks…."

"Oh, here, I got you covered," Jack said, as he began to reach for the glasses.

But Janet retracted them with a mortified look on her face. "Oh, no, I'm not about to have a Brigadier General serve me, sir, that would not be right!"

"Fraiser...Janet, just relax," Jack said, as he took the glasses from her. "That's an order."

"Mom, you can be such a dweeb," Cassie said from the doorway.

"Thanks so much, honey," Janet said jokingly. She turned to Jack and Sam and added, "Would it be all right if we still talked shop? Because the latest Ancient gene tests came in just before I left the infirmary, and you would not believe who's got the gene!"

"Anybody we know?" Jack asked, as he handed her and Cassie freshly poured fruit drinks.

"Major Sheppard and our very own Carson Beckett," Janet replied.

"Sheppard I could see using the weapons platform very effectively," Sam said with a smile. "But poor Carson?"

"He once told me he can barely shoot a handgun without flinching," Janet said, as she and Cassie leaned up against the counter with their drinks.

Sam noted with a smile that both mother and daughter looked very casual and comfortable, barefoot as they were in their light, summer-friendly wardrobes. Gazing at Cassie, Sam could hardly believe how much the girl had grown within the last year. She was turning into a beautiful young woman.

"Did you invite them, Jack?" Cassie suddenly asked. "Carson and the others?"

"I did, but they declined, saying they had other plans for tonight."

"Oh, no way!" they overheard Mitchell say. "No, freaking way, Teal'c!"

"I am afraid it is so, Colonel Mitchell," Teal'c insisted.

Sam and the others entered the living room just in time to see Mitchell walk over to Jennifer, Grace and TJ, who were all curled up on the couch, talking. "Is it true what this guy's saying here?" Mitchell asked. "About how new members of SG-1 must be hung upsidedown over the fire pits of someplace called...Chaz-Rez…."

"The flaming fire pits of Shak-Rad," Teal'c corrected.

Mitchell just waved his hand at him. "Yeah, whatever." He turned back to the women. "Is any of this true?"

"Grace and I had to go through it," Jennifer said somberly. "And it was pretty scary. I thought I was gonna die!"

"My eyebrows got singed," Grace added, with a painful look. "I mean, clean off my face!"

"I remember that," TJ chimed in with a gasp. "Took you a month to grow them back!"

When Mitchell glanced at Sam for help, she just said, "What, nobody told you about our initation rite, yet, Cam?"

Mitchell just stared back at all of them as if they were insane...until Cassie started bursting out laughing.

"Oh, Cassie," Olivia said, now laughing as well, "you just spoiled the joke!"

Everybody joined in on the laughter as Mitchell just shook his head. "I can't believe I just got punk'd by a Jaffa!" he said.

"Indeed," Teal'c said, with a serene smile.

Jack leaned in close and said, "You've got a great team here, Sam."

Sam just smiled back at him. "With these guys, I feel like there nothing that we can't handle, Jack."

**SG-1: SVU**

Kronos waited for the assembly to fill the hallway. The Sons Of Darkness, what were left of them on this moon, quickly gathered to hear what he had to say. Kronos gazed somberly at his brothers. There were so few of them now.

When the Sons Of Darkness of the Telic Monastery had all gathered, Kronos rose from his seat and said, "I am afraid that the dire news we have heard is true. Lord Belial has fallen in battle at the homeworld of the Tauri. And Neith, the Great Betrayer, is just as much to blame for the death of Lord Belial and our brothers at the hands of the Tauri. For she has plotted against him, and against all of our brethren in the Sons Of Darkness."

Kronos waited for the news to sink in. Once his riled-up brothers had turned their attention back to him, he said, "We have been dealt a mortal wound by the one person whom we have sworn to serve. And this can not be allowed. Our Brotherhood must strike back. And we shall."

Kronos gestured for one of the acolytes to push the table forward. It was covered with a piece of dark cloth. Kronos made a grand gesture of removing the cloth, revealing the creature within that was contained on the table by a force field.

The creature looked like a giant, silvery insect, with six legs that tapped a metallic sound every time it took a step. Its wings were made from computer chips, and its skin was metal. It was a replicator, captured at great cost, yet it was well worth it.

"Behold," Kronos said. "Our avenger! Once we release this mechanized terror upon our enemies, once it spreads our wrath, the universe shall tremble yet again at the very sound of our name, the Sons Of Darkness."

His brothers all cheered and chattered delightfully. Kronos glanced back down at the replicator, content in the knowledge that it, along with the millions that it would spawn, would soon shroud the very universe in darkness.

And in that darkness, the Sons Of Darkness shall once more rule supreme.

**The End...for now.**

_I'd like to thank all the people who left comments for me while I wrote this story, as well as those of you who favored either this story or me. I appreciate it, I really do. _

_I would also like to thank Martin Wood, for directing one of my favorite SG-1 episodes, The Lost City, from which the final battle of this story is riffed from. I'd also like to thank my muses: Samantha Carter and Olivia Benson, as well as composer Bear McCreary, whose music for the Battlestar Galactica reboot worked very well in inspiring me to write the battle scenes here. It just goes to show that inspiration is wherever you find it. _


End file.
